In recent years, there has been a revolution in the study of complex systems. Alongside an unprecedented body of data on interactions in the genome or the Internet, we have seen the discovery of certain universal properties that lie behind all complex networks, both natural and artificial. We discover genomes, ecosystems or electrical networks that show enormous fragility, as well as great plasticity and efficiency. Cancer or the Internet appear connected as systems in which a failure in a key node (a gene or a server) can trigger disaster. We find new information highways in the brain that were hidden in our vision. The consequences of these findings are incalculable and are rapidly changing our view of the world.

By Ricard Solé, physicist and biologist, author of Redes complejas.

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