Susanna C. Manrubia received her Ph.D. in physics at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in 1996. She currently holds a tenure-track position (Ramón y Cajal) at the Center for Astrobiology in Madrid. She is interested in biological evolution and has applied statistical-mechanics methods and modeling techniques to a variety of problems where regular collective patterns appear. Address for Manrubia: Centro de Astrobiología, INTA-CSIC, Ctra. de Ajalvir Km.