Modeling The Dynamics Of Life

Designed to help life sciences students understand the role mathematics has played in breakthroughs in epidemiology, genetics, statistics, physiology, and other biological areas, MODELING THE DYNAMCICS OF LIFE: CALCULUS AND PROBABILTY FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS, 3E, International Edition, provides students with a thorough grounding in mathematics, the language, and 'the technology of thought' with which these developments are created and controlled. The text teaches the skills of describing a system, translating appropriate aspects into equations, and interpreting the results in terms of the original problem. The text helps unify biology by identifying dynamical principles that underlie a great diversity of biological processes. Standard topics from calculus courses are covered, with particular emphasis on those areas connected with modeling such as discrete-time dynamical systems, differential equations, and probability and statistics.

Designed to help life sciences students understand the role mathematics has played in breakthroughs in epidemiology, genetics, statistics, physiology, and other biological areas, this text provides students with a thorough grounding in mathematics, the language, and 'the technology of thought' with which these developments are created and controlled.

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?

An overview of current models of biological systems, reflecting the major advances that have been made over the past decade.

Understand the role of mathematics in biology with MODELING THE DYNAMICS OF LIFE: CALCULUS AND PROBABILITY FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS with accompanying technology! Designed to demonstrate the importance of mathematics in breakthroughs in epidemiology, genetics, statistics, physiology, and other biological areas, this mathematics text provides you with the tools you need to succeed. The accompanying iLrn testing makes studying easy by allowing you to work with real math notation in real time and providing instant analysis and feedback. Modeling problems, review problems, and over 100 graphing calculator or computer exercises help you visualize and conceptualize key concepts.

Models help us understand the dynamics of real-world processes by using the computer to mimic the actual forces that are known or assumed to result in a system's behavior. This book does not require a substantial background in mathematics or computer science.

Dynamic Modeling introduces an approach to modeling that makes it a more practical, intuitive endeavour. The book enables readers to convert their understanding of a phenomenon to a computer model, and then to run the model and let it yield the inevitable dynamic consequences built into the structure of the model. Part I provides an introduction to modeling dynamic systems, while Part II offers general methods for modeling. Parts III through to VIII then apply these methods to model real-world phenomena from chemistry, genetics, ecology, economics, and engineering. To develop and execute dynamic simulation models, Dynamic Modeling comes with STELLA II run- time software for Windows-based computers, as well as computer files of sample models used in the book. A clear, approachable introduction to the modeling process, of interest in any field where real problems can be illuminated by computer simulation.

Thirty years ago, biologists could get by with a rudimentary grasp of mathematics and modeling. Not so today. In seeking to answer fundamental questions about how biological systems function and change over time, the modern biologist is as likely to rely on sophisticated mathematical and computer-based models as traditional fieldwork. In this book, Sarah Otto and Troy Day provide biology students with the tools necessary to both interpret models and to build their own. The book starts at an elementary level of mathematical modeling, assuming that the reader has had high school mathematics and first-year calculus. Otto and Day then gradually build in depth and complexity, from classic models in ecology and evolution to more intricate class-structured and probabilistic models. The authors provide primers with instructive exercises to introduce readers to the more advanced subjects of linear algebra and probability theory. Through examples, they describe how models have been used to understand such topics as the spread of HIV, chaos, the age structure of a country, speciation, and extinction. Ecologists and evolutionary biologists today need enough mathematical training to be able to assess the power and limits of biological models and to develop theories and models themselves. This innovative book will be an indispensable guide to the world of mathematical models for the next generation of biologists. A how-to guide for developing new mathematical models in biology Provides step-by-step recipes for constructing and analyzing models Interesting biological applications Explores classical models in ecology and evolution Questions at the end of every chapter Primers cover important mathematical topics Exercises with answers Appendixes summarize useful rules Labs and advanced material available

This book shows, for the very first time, how love stories -- a vital issue in our lives -- can be tentatively described with classical mathematics. Focus is on the derivation and analysis of reliable models that allow one to formally describe the expected evolution of love affairs from the initial state of indifference to the final romantic regime. The models are in full agreement with the basic philosophical principles of love psychology. Eight chapters are theoretically oriented and discuss the romantic relationships between important classes of individuals identified by particular psychological traits. The remaining chapters are devoted to case studies described in classical poems or in worldwide famous films.

Dynamic Models in Biology offers an introduction to modern mathematical biology. This book provides a short introduction to modern mathematical methods in modeling dynamical phenomena and treats the broad topics of population dynamics, epidemiology, evolution, immunology, morphogenesis, and pattern formation. Primarily employing differential equations, the author presents accessible descriptions of difficult mathematical models. Recent mathematical results are included, but the author's presentation gives intuitive meaning to all the main formulae. Besides mathematicians who want to get acquainted with this relatively new field of applications, this book is useful for physicians, biologists, agricultural engineers, and environmentalists. Key Topics Include: Chaotic dynamics of populations The spread of sexually transmitted diseases Problems of the origin of life Models of immunology Formation of animal hide patterns The intuitive meaning of mathematical formulae explained with many figures Applying new mathematical results in modeling biological phenomena Miklos Farkas is a professor at Budapest University of Technology where he has researched and instructed mathematics for over thirty years. He has taught at universities in the former Soviet Union, Canada, Australia, Venezuela, Nigeria, India, and Columbia. Prof. Farkas received the 1999 Bolyai Award of the Hungarian Academy of Science and the 2001 Albert Szentgyorgyi Award of the Hungarian Ministry of Education. A 'down-to-earth' introduction to the growing field of modern mathematical biology Also includes appendices which provide background material that goes beyond advanced calculus and linear algebra