 Newman’s theoretical approach “link[s] the modern physics of materials with contemporary knowledge of genetic determinants” (2014: 107; see also Newman 2003; Forgacs &amp; Newman 2005). A core thesis of this theoretical approach is that excitable soft matter can exhibit self-organization in the absence of any pre-existing program; e.g., synchronized oscillations, local diffusion gradients, compartment-formation via cell adhesion. (This theoretical approach is anticipated in the work of Brian Goodwin, see  Section 9.2.)  Newman posits that the earliest multicellular organisms underwent development spurred by these physical processes, together yielding a basic body plan. Over long evolutionary timescales, gene regulatory networks are overlaid upon physics-driven self-organizing processes. The result is a highly-conserved set of dynamical patterning modules (DPMs) that make basic shapes in a developing embryo: layers, lumens, folds, tubes, segments, etc. Importantly, DPMs are not predetermined genetic programs, but more inclusive systems capable of self-organization. Newman and colleagues use computer simulation to study the possible patterns generated by dynamical gene network models representing DPMs (Salazar-Ciudad, Newman, &amp; Solé 2001). This method brings in dynamical systems theory, which has recently become central to systems biology (see the entry on  systems and synthetic biology).