Biological switches and clocks.
To introduce this special issue on biological switches and clocks, we review the historical development of mathematical models of bistability and oscillations in chemical reaction networks. In the 1960s and 1970s, these models were limited to well-studied biochemical examples, such as glycolytic oscillations and cyclic AMP signalling. After the molecular genetics revolution of the 1980s, the field of molecular cell biology was thrown wide open to mathematical modellers. We review recent advances in modelling the gene-protein interaction networks that control circadian rhythms, cell cycle progression, signal processing and the design of synthetic gene networks.
Tyson
John J
JJ
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. tyson@vt.edu
Albert
Reka
R
Goldbeter
Albert
A
Ruoff
Peter
P
Sible
Jill
J
D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000266:history; D015398:Signal Transduction