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Book Review

Nature 422, 117-118 (13 March 2003) | doi:10.1038/422117a

Open Innovation Challenges

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Move to the rhythm

J. J. Collins1

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Many systems, from pendulums to fireflies, work in synchrony.

One of the central challenges facing many scientific disciplines, including physiology, molecular biology and physics, is to understand the dynamics of complex networks of interconnected components. Attempts to identify generic behaviour or universal organizing principles for such systems often leads to results that are suggestive and intriguing but lack a rigorous, mechanistic foundation.