TY - JOUR A1 - Beta, Carsten A1 - Kruse, Karsten T1 - Intracellular oscillations and waves JF - Annual review of condensed matter physics N2 - Dynamic processes in living cells are highly organized in space and time. Unraveling the underlying molecular mechanisms of spatiotemporal pattern formation remains one of the outstanding challenges at the interface between physics and biology. A fundamental recurrent pattern found in many different cell types is that of self-sustained oscillations. They are involved in a wide range of cellular functions, including second messenger signaling, gene expression, and cytoskeletal dynamics. Here, we review recent developments in the field of cellular oscillations and focus on cases where concepts from physics have been instrumental for understanding the underlying mechanisms. We consider biochemical and genetic oscillators as well as oscillations that arise from chemo-mechanical coupling. Finally, we highlight recent studies of intracellular waves that have increasingly moved into the focus of this research field. KW - self-sustained oscillations KW - biochemical oscillators KW - genetic networks KW - chemomechanical coupling KW - actin waves Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-0-8243-5008-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-conmatphys-031016-025210 SN - 1947-5454 VL - 8 SP - 239 EP - 264 PB - Annual Reviews CY - Palo Alto ER -