Biological networks, as physical systems, comprise interconnected biomolecular or cellular components whose interactions give rise to emergent functional organization in living organisms. They include gene regulatory, protein–protein interaction, metabolic, neuronal, and signaling networks, each instantiated by tangible entities such as DNA, proteins, metabolites, or cells and their spatially constrained contacts. These systems exhibit nontrivial topology (e.g., modularity, hubs, motifs) and dynamic behavior governed by biochemical reaction kinetics, diffusion, and mechanical coupling. Biological networks underpin robustness, adaptability, and information processing in cells and tissues, and are quantitatively studied using tools from statistical physics, nonlinear dynamics, and network theory.
For more than a century, scientists have wondered why physical structures like blood vessels, neurons, tree branches, and other biological networks look the way they do. The prevailing theory held that nature simply builds ...
General Physics
Jan 7, 2026
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G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are proteins triggered by ligands (protein-binding chemicals) from outside cells to transmit signals inside the cell. These signals are transmitted primarily through the activation of G ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 22, 2025
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19
Researchers have unveiled a breakthrough technology that could transform the way scientists build and study lab-grown brain tissue models. The innovation, called Cellular RedOx Spreading Shield (CROSS), delivers long-lasting ...
Bio & Medicine
Dec 17, 2025
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22
Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed Nicheformer, the first large-scale foundation model that integrates single-cell analysis with spatial transcriptomics. Trained on ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 3, 2025
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28
Bioengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a powerful new technology that can map the entire network of RNA-protein interactions inside human cells—an achievement that could offer new strategies ...
Biotechnology
Oct 2, 2025
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42
When biomedical researchers need to test their latest ideas, they often turn to engineered human tissue that mimics the responses in our own bodies. It's become an important intermediary step before human clinical trials.
Bio & Medicine
Sep 29, 2025
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35
Scientists are uncovering the secrets of a fast-acting molecular messaging network that strongly influences how people and all organisms adjust and react to the world around them.
Biotechnology
Sep 4, 2025
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124
Previously, research on controlling gene networks has been carried out based on a single stimulus-response of cells. More recently, studies have been proposed to precisely analyze complex gene networks to identify control ...
Biotechnology
Aug 31, 2025
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106
To study growth-defense trade-offs in the context of metabolism in crops, scientists from the Universities of Potsdam and Erlangen, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, and the National Institute of Biology, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 11, 2025
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17
Most genes are ancient and shared across species. But a small subset of genes are relative newcomers, spontaneously emerging from stretches of DNA that once encoded nothing at all.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 14, 2025
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