Missing and spurious interactions and the reconstruction of complex networks

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0908366106
• Publication Date: 2009-12-15T03:19:27Z
• Authors: Roger Guimerà; Marta Sales-Pardo
• Keywords: Spurious relationship; Network Analysis

Network analysis is currently used in a myriad of contexts: from identifying potential drug targets to predicting the spread epidemics and designing vaccination strategies, finding friends uncovering criminal activity. Despite promise network approach, reliability data source great concern all fields where complex networks are studied. Here, we present general mathematical computational framework deal with problem networks. In particular, able reliably identify both missing spurious interactions noisy observations. Remarkably, our approach also enables us obtain, those observations, reconstructions that yield estimates true properties more accurate than provided by observations themselves. Our has guide experiments, better characterize sets, drive new discoveries.