From unicellular green algae to the lining of our respiratory systems are found hair-like appendages, known as cilia, whose coordinated beating results in transport of fluid essential for life. For decades there has been speculation about the origins of the synchronization seen in nature, but it is only recently that theory and experiments (mostly carried out here in DAMTP ) have combined to provide quantitative analysis of this problem. This talk will describe the fascinating stochastic nonlinear dynamics underlying the synchronization problem.