An engineering viewpoint on biological robustness. Issue 1 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Khammash, Mustafa
• Is Part Of: BMC biology. Volume 14:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 11
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Biology -- Periodicals; Medical sciences -- Periodicals; Biomedical Research -- Periodicals; 570.5
• DOI: 10.1186/s12915-016-0241-x
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1741-7007

Abstract

Abstract In his splendid article "Can a biologist fix a radio? — or, what I learned while studying apoptosis, " Y. Lazebnik argues that when one uses the right tools, similarity between a biological system, like a signal transduction pathway, and an engineered system, like a radio, may not seem so superficial. Here I advance this idea by focusing on the notion ofrobustness as a unifying lens through which to view complexity in biological and engineered systems. I show that electronic amplifiers and gene expression circuits share remarkable similarities in their dynamics and robustness properties. I explore robustness features and limitations in biology and engineering and highlight the role of negative feedback in shaping both.