Title: Are biological systems poised at criticality? Authors: Thierry Mora and William Bialek Ref. J. Stat. Phys. 144, 268-302 (2011) Abstract: Biological systems are made up of various components interacting with each other. Many of these collective phenomena offer a challenge to be deciphered using the tools of statistical physics. In the past few years, larger experiments have made it possible to construct statistical models using real data. An interesting feature is the observation that some of these systems are poised at a critical point in the parameter space. We illustrate this behaviour in the modelling of the neuronal activity in the vertebrate retina. Note: The talk will cover parts 1-4 of the paper only.