Stochasticity (or noise) at cellular and molecular levels has been observed
extensively as a universal feature for living systems. However, how living
systems deal with noise while performing desirable biological functions remains
a major mystery. Regulatory network configurations, such as their topology and
timescale, are shown to be critical in attenuating noise, and noise is also
found to facilitate cell fate decision. Here we review major recent findings on
noise attenuation through regulatory control, the benefit of noise via
noise-induced cellular plasticity during developmental patterning, and
summarize key principles underlying noise control
