Fluctuations & noise is a research area concerned with stochastic variability in physical, biological, and engineered systems, focusing on the origin, characterization, and consequences of random deviations from deterministic behavior. It encompasses thermal, quantum, and environmental noise, as well as intrinsic fluctuations in nonequilibrium and complex systems. Researchers study statistical properties (e.g., correlation functions, power spectra, probability distributions), fluctuation–dissipation relations, and noise-induced phenomena such as stochastic resonance, pattern formation, and rare events. The field integrates methods from statistical physics, stochastic processes, information theory, and nonlinear dynamics, with applications spanning condensed matter, soft matter, neuroscience, climate, and nanoscale devices.
An ecosystem is not a still life. Even where everything looks stable—a woodland, a lake, the soil—the internal "bookkeeping" keeps changing: how many individuals belong to which species, and for how long. Some populations ...
Evolution
Feb 18, 2026
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15
That low-frequency fuzz that can bedevil cellphone calls has to do with how electrons move through and interact in materials at the smallest scale. The electronic flicker noise is often caused by interruptions in the flow ...
Condensed Matter
Feb 4, 2026
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86
The development of humans and other animals unfolds gradually over time, with cells taking on specific roles and functions via a process called cell fate determination. The fate of individual cells, or in other words, what ...
In a recent paper, SFI Professor David Wolpert, SFI Fractal Faculty member Carlo Rovelli, and physicist Jordan Scharnhorst examine a longstanding, paradoxical thought experiment in statistical physics and cosmology known ...
General Physics
Jan 21, 2026
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1027
A team of researchers led by the University of Warwick has developed the first unified framework for detecting "spacetime fluctuations"—tiny, random distortions in the fabric of spacetime that appear in many attempts to unite ...
General Physics
Jan 21, 2026
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171
Much like humans, microbial organisms can be fickle in their productivity. One moment they're cranking out useful chemicals in vast fermentation tanks, metabolizing feed to make products from pharmaceuticals and supplements ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 15, 2026
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37
Why does cancer sometimes recur even after successful treatment, or why do some bacteria survive despite the use of powerful antibiotics? One of the key culprits identified is "biological noise"—random fluctuations occurring ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 30, 2025
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199
Researchers have developed a theoretical framework that shows how living cell membranes can generate electricity from molecular fluctuations. The work is published in the journal PNAS Nexus.
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 16, 2025
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18
Conditions can get rough in the micro- and nanoworld. For example, to ensure that nutrients can still be optimally transported within cells, the minuscule transporters involved need to respond to the fluctuating environment. ...
General Physics
Dec 15, 2025
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41
When describing collective properties of macroscopic physical systems, microscopic fluctuations are typically averaged out, leaving a description of the typical behavior of the systems. While this simplification has its advantages, ...
General Physics
Nov 28, 2025
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