The geometry of biological time. (Q5937523)

Rythms, or periodic processes, play a central role at many levels in living systems. Think, for instance, of cell cycles, the heart beat, or `circadian' clocks of insect eclosion. This impressive monograph is probably the best source to dive into the world of biological rythms. It is the second edition of Winfree's classic published in 1980, see the review Zbl 0464.92001. It has been substantially revised by including many new developments and omitting or replacing outdated material. Numerous more or less small changes are scattered throughout the book; there are two completely new chapters, whereas other chapters have been compressed into examples. The structure is the same as before. The first ten chapters are conceptual, developing the fundamental concepts, in particular the relation between periodic processes and topology, geometry, and maps. This is substantiated by numerous examples from physical and biological systems. The other 13 chapters are devoted to concrete organismic and experimental systems of clocks and maps, most of which show phase singularities. This book is not primarily about mathematical models and their analysis, rather it concentrates on insightful mathematical descriptions of biological processses, whose biochemical bases we are just beginning to understand.