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Updated: Jul 5, 2025
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A Microfluidics Approach for the Functional Investigation of Signaling Oscillations Governing Somitogenesis
Published on: March 19, 2021
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A critical signal for phenotype transition driven by negative feedback loops.
Yao Wang1,2, Yingying Dong3, Qiaocheng Zhai3
1School of Mathematical Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
Iscience
|January 16, 2024
Summary
Researchers found that the rate of change in heart rate (velocity) can predict ovulation in women. This "derivative-transition" link also applies to biological rhythms in mice and simulations, offering a new early warning signal for critical biological shifts.
Area of Science:
- Chronobiology
- Physiology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Biological rhythms are crucial for physiological processes and behaviors.
- Negative feedback loops govern many biological rhythms.
- Predicting critical transitions in these rhythms remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify reliable warning signals for periodic fluctuations in biological rhythms.
- To investigate the link between signal velocity and critical transition points.
Main Methods:
- Monitored heart rate and ovulation in 91 fertile women.
- Analyzed calcium signaling and locomotor activity in mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN).
- Performed numerical simulations of negative feedback loop models.
Main Results:
- Heart rate velocity strongly correlates with ovulation timing in women.
- Maximum velocity of calcium signals in the SCN aligns with activity offsets in mice.
- Over 90% of simulated oscillations showed a correlation between maximum velocity and transition points.
Conclusions:
- The maximum velocity of oscillatory signals serves as a potential early warning signal for critical transitions.
- This derivative-transition link is a generalizable principle across different biological systems.
- Findings offer new insights into predicting physiological and behavioral shifts.
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