Mathematical biology

Mathematical biology or biomathematics is an interdisciplinary field of academic study which aims at modelling natural, biological processes using mathematical techniques and tools. It has both practical and theoretical applications in biological research.

Importance

Applying mathematics to biology has a long history, but only recently has there been an explosion of interest in the field. Some reasons for this include:

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• the explosion of data-rich information sets, due to the genomics revolution, which are difficult to understand without the use of analytical tools,
• recent development of mathematical tools such as chaos theory to help understand complex, nonlinear mechanisms in biology,
• an increase in computing power which enables calculations and simulations to be performed that were not previously possible, and
• an increasing interest in in silico experimentation due to the complications involved in human and animal research.