Finding optimal networks achieving general biological functions

Biological networks often have certain biological functions. For example the animal vascular networks transport oxygen and the plant bundle networks transport water. Previous research has shown that these biological networks have network properties that enhance their functions. For instance slime mold networks are shown to be robust and efficient in transport, and leaf networks are shown to be resilient in damage and flow fluctuations. However it is not clear that among many beneficial network properties a biological network could achieve which property is the most important. While it might be the combination of several properties that is vital for organisms, comparing the real biological networks with theoretical optimal networks could give us insight on the formation of biological networks. In this work I proposed a framework that allows us to solve for optimal networks that achieve general biological functions. Numerical solutions are performed on networks with topology inspired by real biological networks, and the optimal networks achieving different functions on the same topology were compared to see which one best explains the structure of real biological networks.