For her PhD thesis in biophysics at the University of Virginia, Abigail Flower investigated the high variability of heart beats in premature infants and found, through a pattern-matching algorithm, that a reduced complexity in these patients (i.e. heart beats that showed deceleration over two days) can indicate the onset of sepsis-while allowing enough time to use antibiotics. Heart rate is controlled by sino-atrial node (SAN) cells that coordinate two biological “clocks:” a transmembrane oscillator and a calcium oscillator.   MORE