There is no doubt that nowadays, biology benefits greatly from mathematics. In particular, cellular biology is, besides population dynamics, a field where tech niques of mathematical modeling are widely used. This is reflected by the large number of journal articles and congress proceedings published every year on the dynamics of complex cellular processes. This applies, among others, to metabolic control analysis, where the number of articles on theoretical fundamentals and experimental applications has increased for about 15 years. Surprisingly, mono graphs and textbooks dealing with the modeling of metabolic systems are still exceptionally rare. We think that now time is ripe to fill this gap. This monograph covers various aspects of the mathematical description of enzymatic systems, such as stoichiometric analysis, enzyme kinetics, dynamical simulation, metabolic control analysis, and evolutionary optimization. We believe that, at present, these are the main approaches by which metabolic systems can be analyzed in mathematical terms. Although stoichiometric analysis and enzyme kinetics are classical fields tracing back to the beginning of our century, there are intriguing recent developments such as detection of elementary biochemical syn thesis routes and rate laws for the situation of metabolic channeling, which we have considered worth being included. Evolutionary optimization of metabolic systems is a rather new field with promising prospects. Its goal is to elucidate the structure and functions of these systems from an evolutionary viewpoint.

Current biological research demands the extensive use of sophisticated mathematical methods and computer-aided analysis of experiments and data. This highly interdisciplinary volume focuses on structural, dynamical and functional aspects of cellular systems and presents corresponding experiments and mathematical models. The book may serve as an introduction for biologists, mathematicians and physicists to key questions in cellular systems which can be studied with mathematical models. Recent model approaches are presented with applications in cellular metabolism, intra- and intercellular signaling, cellular mechanics, network dynamics and pattern formation. In addition, applied issues such as tumor cell growth, dynamics of the immune system and biotechnology are included.

The ability to regulate cell volume in the face of osmotic challenge is one of the most fundamental of cellular homeostatic mechanisms. Cellular and Molecular Physiology of Cell Volume Regulation is an integrated collection of articles describing key aspects of cell volume control. The book has been organized around concepts and cellular/molecular processes rather than around mechanisms of volume regulation in specific cell types in order to make it more accessible to a multidisciplinary audience of students, instructors, and researchers.

This book deals with problems and approaches to cellular systems and will cover a wide range of cell types and cell systems, including nerve cells. It will be of interest to cell biologists interested in modeling, and to any students interested in the field. It will also apppeal to the theoretical and mathematical biology community, and would have relevance to individuals interested in evolutionary issues as they bear on cellular metabolic models. It will be a solid theoretical book, with an empirical base and an evolution connection, that fits exactly to the initial theme of the theoretical biology series.

Cellular Energy Metabolism and Its Regulation examines the metabolic and molecular aspects of living organisms. Beginning with a discussion of evolutionary design and its close analogy with human design, it emphasizes the notion that evolution is a process of functional design, and that the characteristics of an organism, whether morphological or molecular, were selected because of functional advantage to the organism's ancestors. Thus, the study of an enzyme, a reaction, or a sequence can be biologically relevant only if its position in the hierarchy of function is kept in mind. This book dea ...

Molecular Aspects of Exercise Biology and Exercise Genomics, the latest volume in the Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science series includes a comprehensive summary of the evidence accumulated thus far on the molecular and cellular regulation of the various adaptations taking place in response to exercise. Changes in the cellular machinery are described for multiple tissues and organs in terms of signaling pathways, gene expression, and protein abundance. Adaptations to acute exercise as well as exposure to regular exercise are also discussed and considered. - Includes a comprehensive summary of the evidence accumulated thus far on the molecular and cellular regulation of the various adaptations taking place in response to exercise - Contains contributions from leading authorities - Informs and updates on all the latest developments in the field of exercise biology and exercise genomics