Robustness and time-scale hierarchy in biological systems

This study addresses the issue of robustness of biological systems with respect to microscopic parameters, especially the emergence of robustness as a consequence of lime-scale hierarchy, applying naive thermodynamic and dynamic assumptions. Theoretical considerations of how the time-scale hierarchy can decouple physiological regulatory mechanisms are illustrated by two model systems involving the photosynthetic apparatus of green plants. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.