Mathematical biology

From ArticleWorld

Mathematical biology is a field of study that aims at modelling biological processes using mathemathical methods. This field has applications to biological research that are valuable in both a practical and theoretical sense.

Importance

The use of mathematics in biology has had a long history. Only recently, however, has interest in the field become intense. This is due to mainy factor. One of these is the study of genes and the field of genetics. Due to genomics there is now a vast amount of data that is required to be processed. Without the use of mathematical methods to assist in this analysis it becomes a very long and tedious task.

Another reason has been the development of theories in mathematics such as the chaos theory which can assist biologists in understanding complex mechanisms in biology which are non-linear. Increases in computational technologies which are able to perform calculations and simultations also are valuble tools to biologists.

Research

Research has been continuing into the use of mathematical biology and its applications. This includes research into the field of population dynamics. Mathematical biology has always played a large role in this field of study. Using mathematical models to express concepts such as evolution and other related fields are now famous examples.

A great deal of focus has been given to mathematical biology as a result of the study of molecular biology. Mathematics has played a large role in the modelling of neurons and carcinogenesis. It has also given assistance to the comprehension of the mechanics of biological tissues. Other related areas it has contributed to include enzymology, cancer modelling, modelling the movement of cell populations, scar tissue formation and intracellular dynamics. Spatial modelling and physiological modelling are other ares of interest.