Dynamical Systems

Computing with biological switches and clocks

The complex dynamics of biological systems is primarily driven by molecular interactions that underpin the regulatory networks of cells. These networks typically contain positive and negative feedback loops, which are responsible for switch-like and …

Efficient switches in biology and computer science

Biological systems are adapted to respond quickly to changes in their environment. Signal processing often leads to all-or-none switch-like activation of downstream pathways. Such biological switches are based on molecular interactions that form …

Noise reduction in complex biological switches

Cells operate in noisy molecular environments via complex regulatory networks. It is possible to understand how molecular counts are related to noise in specific networks, but it is not generally clear how noise relates to network complexity, because …

Synthesizing and tuning chemical reaction networks with specified behaviours

We consider how to generate chemical reaction networks (CRNs) from functional specifications. We propose a two-stage approach that combines synthesis by satisfiability modulo theories and Markov chain Monte Carlo based optimisation. First, we …

What makes a biological clock efficient?

Biological clocks regulate the proper periodicity of several processes at the cellular and organismal level. The cell cycle and circadian rhythm are the best characterized among these but several other biological clocks function in cells at widely …

Understanding and predicting biological networks using linear system identification

This chapter demonstrates how linear systems can be used to model biochemical networks. Such models give predictable power that can be used to generate hypotheses, which in turn can be (in)validated experimentally. The advantages of linear systems …

Programmable chemical controllers made from DNA

Biological organisms use complex molecular networks to navigate their environment and regulate their internal state. The development of synthetic systems with similar capabilities could lead to applications such as smart therapeutics or fabrication …

Chemical Reaction Networks

Tools for programming chemical reaction networks (CRN), DNA strand-displacement circuits (DSD) and genetically engineered circuits (GEC)

Understanding biological timing using mechanistic and black-box models

The use of mathematical modelling in understanding and dissecting physiological mechanisms in plants has seen many successes. Notably, studies of the component interactions of the Arabidopsis circadian clock have yielded multiple insights into the …