Provides a wide range of mathematical models currently used in the life sciences Each model is thoroughly explained and illustrated by example Includes three appendices to allow for independent reading

This book develops the mathematical tools essential for students in the life sciences to describe interacting systems and predict their behavior. From predator-prey populations in an ecosystem, to hormone regulation within the body, the natural world abounds in dynamical systems that affect us profoundly. Complex feedback relations and counter-intuitive responses are common in nature; this book develops the quantitative skills needed to explore these interactions. Differential equations are the natural mathematical tool for quantifying change, and are the driving force throughout this book. The use of Euler’s method makes nonlinear examples tractable and accessible to a broad spectrum of early-stage undergraduates, thus providing a practical alternative to the procedural approach of a traditional Calculus curriculum. Tools are developed within numerous, relevant examples, with an emphasis on the construction, evaluation, and interpretation of mathematical models throughout. Encountering these concepts in context, students learn not only quantitative techniques, but how to bridge between biological and mathematical ways of thinking. Examples range broadly, exploring the dynamics of neurons and the immune system, through to population dynamics and the Google PageRank algorithm. Each scenario relies only on an interest in the natural world; no biological expertise is assumed of student or instructor. Building on a single prerequisite of Precalculus, the book suits a two-quarter sequence for first or second year undergraduates, and meets the mathematical requirements of medical school entry. The later material provides opportunities for more advanced students in both mathematics and life sciences to revisit theoretical knowledge in a rich, real-world framework. In all cases, the focus is clear: how does the math help us understand the science?

Using examples from finance and modern warfare to the flocking of birds and the swarming of bacteria, the collected research in this volume demonstrates the common methodological approaches and tools for modeling and simulating collective behavior. The topics presented point toward new and challenging frontiers of applied mathematics, making the volume a useful reference text for applied mathematicians, physicists, biologists, and economists involved in the modeling of socio-economic systems.

Combining mathematics, biology, statistics and computer applications, this text applies mathematical methods to the solution of biological and related problems. It demonstrates how to formulate mathematical models of dynamic processes and how to study their behaviour analytically and numerically.

Mathematical biomedicine is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary field of research that connects the natural and exact sciences in an attempt to respond to the modeling and simulation challenges raised by biology and medicine. There exist a large number of mathematical methods and procedures that can be brought in to meet these challenges and this book presents a palette of such tools ranging from discrete cellular automata to cell population based models described by ordinary differential equations to nonlinear partial differential equations representing complex time- and space-dependent continuous processes. Both stochastic and deterministic methods are employed to analyze biological phenomena in various temporal and spatial settings. This book illustrates the breadth and depth of research opportunities that exist in the general field of mathematical biomedicine by highlighting some of the fascinating interactions that continue to develop between the mathematical and biomedical sciences. It consists of five parts that can be read independently, but are arranged to give the reader a broader picture of specific research topics and the mathematical tools that are being applied in its modeling and analysis. The main areas covered include immune system modeling, blood vessel dynamics, cancer modeling and treatment, and epidemiology. The chapters address topics that are at the forefront of current biomedical research such as cancer stem cells, immunodominance and viral epitopes, aggressive forms of brain cancer, or gene therapy. The presentations highlight how mathematical modeling can enhance biomedical understanding and will be of interest to both the mathematical and the biomedical communities including researchers already working in the field as well as those who might consider entering it. Much of the material is presented in a way that gives graduate students and young researchers a starting point for their own work.

Freshman and sophomore life sciences students respond well to the modeling approach to calculus, difference equations, and differential equations presented in this book. Examples of population dynamics, pharmacokinetics, and biologically relevant physical processes are introduced in Chapter 1, and these and other life sciences topics are developed throughout the text. The students should have studied algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, but may be life sciences students because they have not enjoyed their previous mathematics courses.

The aim of this book is to introduce the subject of mathematical modeling in the life sciences. It is intended for students of mathematics, the physical sciences, and engineering who are curious about biology. Additionally, it will be useful to students of the life sciences and medicine who are unsatisfied with mere description and who seek an understanding of biological mechanism and dynamics through the use of mathematics. The book will be particularly useful to premedical students, because it will introduce them not only to a collection of mathematical methods but also to an assortment of phenomena involving genetics, epidemics, and the physiology of the heart, lung, and kidney. Because of its introductory character, mathematical prerequisites are kept to a minimum; they involve only what is usually covered in the first semester of a calculus sequence. The authors have drawn on their extensive experience as modelers to select examples which are simple enough to be understood at this elementary level and yet realistic enough to capture the essence of significant biological phenomena drawn from the areas of population dynamics and physiology. Because the models presented are realistic, the book can serve not only as an introduction to mathematical methods but also as a mathematical introduction to the biological material itself. For the student, who enjoys mathematics, such an introduction will be far more stimulating and satisfying than the purely descriptive approach that is traditional in the biological sciences.