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Science 26 September 2003:
Vol. 301. no. 5641, pp. 1866 - 1867
DOI: 10.1126/science.1089072
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Viewpoint

Biological Networks: The Tinkerer as an Engineer

U. Alon

This viewpoint comments on recent advances in understanding the design principles of biological networks. It highlights the surprising discovery of "good-engineering" principles in biochemical circuitry that evolved by random tinkering.

Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel 76100. E-mail: urialon{at}weizmann.ac.il

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