Kinetic Logic: A Boolean Approach to the Analysis of Complex Regulatory Systems

The E M B 0 course on "Formal Analysis of Genetic Regulation" A course entitled "Formal analysis of Genetic Regulation" was held at the University of Brussels from 6 to 16 September 1977 under the auspices of EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization). As indicated by the title of the book (but not explicitly enough by the title of the course), the main emphasis was put on a dynamic analysis of systems using logical methods, that is, methods in which functions and variables take only a limited number of values - typically two. In this respect, this course was complementary to an EMBO course using continuous methods which was held some months later in Israel by Prof. Segel. People from four very different laboratories took an active part in teaching our course in Brussels : Drs Anne LEUSSLER and Philippe VAN HAM, from the Laboratory of Prof. Jean FLORINE (Laboratoire des Systemes logiques et numeriques, Faculte des Sciences appliquees, Universite Libre de Bruxelles). Dr Stuart KAUFFMAN (Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Philadelphia). Prof. Gregoire NICOLlS (Service de Biophysique Theorique, Faculte des Sciences, Universite Libre de Bruxelles) and his temporary coworker Dr David RIGNEY (presently at the Center for Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics of the University of Texas at Austin, Texas).