Animation: growing cell network - possible in Blender; how to start ?

Hi, I am new to Blender, but did some things with other 3D software for hobby. Now I have the idea to animate a scene for explaining a peer to peer network. Instead of using symbolized PCs with arrows pointing from one to the other, I like to try a visualization of a cell network.
Like shown in the image this cell network grows over time and later on “messages” should run through this network (maybe glowing particles).


Do you think an animation like this can be done with Blender
and if yes,
do you have key words for me which help me to find the right tutorials?

Do you think an animation like this can be done with Blender
Yes

do you have key words for me which help me to find the right tutorials?
Shapekeys, metaballs