This book describes the evolution of several socio-biological systems using mathematical kinetic theory. Specifically, it deals with modeling and simulations of biological systems whose dynamics follow the rules of mechanics as well as rules governed by their own ability to organize movement and biological functions. It proposes a new biological model focused on the analysis of competition between cells of an aggressive host and cells of a corresponding immune system. Proposed models are related to the generalized Boltzmann equation. The book may be used for advanced graduate courses and seminars in biological systems modeling.

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?

This volume examines a variety of biological and medical problems using mathematical models to understand complex system dynamics. Featured topics include autism spectrum disorder, ectoparasites and allogrooming, argasid ticks dynamics, super-fast nematocyst firing, cancer-immune population dynamics, and the spread of disease through populations. Applications are investigated with mathematical models using a variety of techniques in ordinary and partial differential equations, difference equations, Markov-chain models, Monte-Carlo simulations, network theory, image analysis, and immersed boundary method. Each article offers a thorough explanation of the methodologies used and numerous tables and color illustrations to explain key results. This volume is suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in current applications of mathematical models in the biosciences. The research featured in this volume began among newly-formed collaborative groups at the 2017 Women Advancing Mathematical Biology Workshop that took place at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute in Columbus, Ohio. The groups spent one intensive week working at MBI and continued their collaborations after the workshop, resulting in the work presented in this volume.

An introduction to the mathematical concepts and techniques needed for the construction and analysis of models in molecular systems biology. Systems techniques are integral to current research in molecular cell biology, and system-level investigations are often accompanied by mathematical models. These models serve as working hypotheses: they help us to understand and predict the behavior of complex systems. This book offers an introduction to mathematical concepts and techniques needed for the construction and interpretation of models in molecular systems biology. It is accessible to upper-level undergraduate or graduate students in life science or engineering who have some familiarity with calculus, and will be a useful reference for researchers at all levels. The first four chapters cover the basics of mathematical modeling in molecular systems biology. The last four chapters address specific biological domains, treating modeling of metabolic networks, of signal transduction pathways, of gene regulatory networks, and of electrophysiology and neuronal action potentials. Chapters 3–8 end with optional sections that address more specialized modeling topics. Exercises, solvable with pen-and-paper calculations, appear throughout the text to encourage interaction with the mathematical techniques. More involved end-of-chapter problem sets require computational software. Appendixes provide a review of basic concepts of molecular biology, additional mathematical background material, and tutorials for two computational software packages (XPPAUT and MATLAB) that can be used for model simulation and analysis.

Thorough and accessible, this book presents the design principles of biological systems, and highlights the recurring circuit elements that make up biological networks. It provides a simple mathematical framework which can be used to understand and even design biological circuits. The textavoids specialist terms, focusing instead on several well-studied biological systems that concisely demonstrate key principles. An Introduction to Systems Biology: Design Principles of Biological Circuits builds a solid foundation for the intuitive understanding of general principles. It encourages the reader to ask why a system is designed in a particular way and then proceeds to answer with simplified models.

Mathematical Concepts and Methods in Modern Biology offers a quantitative framework for analyzing, predicting, and modulating the behavior of complex biological systems. The book presents important mathematical concepts, methods and tools in the context of essential questions raised in modern biology.Designed around the principles of project-based learning and problem-solving, the book considers biological topics such as neuronal networks, plant population growth, metabolic pathways, and phylogenetic tree reconstruction. The mathematical modeling tools brought to bear on these topics include Boolean and ordinary differential equations, projection matrices, agent-based modeling and several algebraic approaches. Heavy computation in some of the examples is eased by the use of freely available open-source software. - Features self-contained chapters with real biological research examples using freely available computational tools - Spans several mathematical techniques at basic to advanced levels - Offers broad perspective on the uses of algebraic geometry/polynomial algebra in molecular systems biology

This edited volume contains a selection of chapters that are an outgrowth of the - ropean Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ECMTB05, Dresden, Germany, July 2005). The peer-reviewed contributions show that mathematical and computational approaches are absolutely essential for solving central problems in the life sciences, ranging from the organizational level of individual cells to the dynamics of whole populations. The contributions indicate that theoretical and mathematical biology is a diverse and interdisciplinary ?eld, ranging from experimental research linked to mathema- cal modeling to the development of more abstract mathematical frameworks in which observations about the real world can be interpreted, and with which new hypotheses for testing can be generated. Today, much attention is also paid to the development of ef?cient algorithms for complex computation and visualisation, notably in molecular biology and genetics. The ?eld of theoretical and mathematical biology and medicine has profound connections to many current problems of great relevance to society. The medical, industrial, and social interests in its development are in fact indisputable.