In a living cell, ultrasensitive modules are embedded in a bigger network with  upstream and downstream components. This components may constrain the range of inputs that the module will receive as well as the range of the module's outputs that network will be able to detect. Altszyler et al. (2014) studied  how the effective ultrasensitivity of a modular system is affected by these restrictions. They found for some ultrasensitive motifs that dynamic range limitations imposed by downstream components can produce effective sensitivities much larger than that of the original module when considered in isolation.