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Self-organization, complexity and chaos: The new biology for medicine

Nature Medicine volume 4, pages 882–885 (1998)Cite this article

The self-organization of cells into complex interacting systems can be described using a branch of mathematics called nonlinear dynamics, which includes the study of chaos. Here, Donald Coffey explains how analysis of complex biological systems using nonlinear dynamics sheds light on the events leading to disorders as varied as epilepsy, heart disease and cancer

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, USA

    Donald S. Coffey

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  1. Donald S. Coffey
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Coffey, D. Self-organization, complexity and chaos: The new biology for medicine. Nat Med 4, 882–885 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0898-882

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