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Updated: Nov 8, 2025

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures
Published on: November 11, 2016
A tale of two rhythms: Locked clocks and chaos in biology
Mathias L Heltberg1, Sandeep Krishna2, Leo P Kadanoff3
1Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75 231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Abstract:
The fundamental mechanisms that control and regulate biological organisms exhibit a surprising level of complexity. Oscillators are perhaps the simplest motifs that produce time-varying dynamics and are ubiquitous in biological systems. It is also known that such biological oscillators interact with each other-for instance, circadian oscillators affect the cell cycle, and somitogenesis clock proteins in adjacent cells affect each other in developing embryos. Therefore, it is vital to understand the effects that can emerge from non-linear interaction between oscillations. Here, we show how oscillations typically arise in biology and take the reader on a tour through the great variety in dynamics that can emerge even from a single pair of coupled oscillators. We explain how chaotic dynamics can emerge and outline the methods of detecting this in experimental time traces. Finally, we discuss the potential role of such complex dynamical features in biological systems.
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