Focus Series on Nonlinear Dynamics in Biology

Breakthroughs in genetics, cell biology, neuroscience and population dynamics are changing the way we cure diseases, what we eat, how we build robots, and even how a market campaign is designed. With those thrives, powerful technologies are swamping labs with data, and descriptive, intuitive arguments are not enough to interpret them. That alone explains why biologists are changing their attitude towards quantitative approaches. There is a deeper reason. Experimental biology achieved impressive results with a reductionist approach, unveiling how life works piece by piece. Yet, life is complex, and at every scale, its features reflect complex interactions among multiple components. This is the reason for which nonlinear dynamics has found in Biology an endless source of questions. In some cases, Nonlinear Dynamics helps in the construction of operational models capable of assisting Biologists in the design of new experiments. In others, Biology demands new tools, motivating basic research in the field of Dynamics. Among Dynamicists, Physicists have a privileged perspective: familiar with quantitative tools, but ultimately natural scientists.

The present Focus Issue on Nonlinear Dynamics in Biology celebrates the fruitful encounter between these two disciplines, covering a wide range of areas in which Nonlinear Dynamics is present, such as Gene Networks, Cell Biology, Information Transfer, Development, Neuroscience and Population Dynamics.