Mathematical Biology: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring

Why are English Premier League football shirt patterns very similar to animal coat markings? And what do invasive species have in common with cancer cells in the body? Mathematical biology develops models which answer these questions, as they are applied to processes from the spread of a gene in a population, to predator-prey dynamics in an ecosystem, to the growth of tumours.

In this Very Short Introduction Philip K. Maini describes the art of modelling, what it is, why we do it, and illustrates how the abstract way of thinking that is the essence of mathematics enables us to transfer knowledge from one area of research to another. Using numerous examples, he explains how the same fundamental ideas have been used in different fields, and shows how mathematics is the language of science. The author also points to cases in science where the traditional scientific modelling approach - verbal reasoning - is incorrect and shows how mathematics can uncover, and correct, such flawed reasoning while, at the same time, enhance our intuition. This book provides a guide to the trajectory of mathematical biology from a niche subject in the 1970s to a well-established, popular subject that is truly inter-disciplinary, and points to exciting future challenges.


ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Philip K. Maini, Professor of Mathematical Biology, Oxford University

Philip K. Maini is Professor of Mathematical Biology at Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology, University of Oxford. He has over 300 publications in the field and has held visiting positions at a number of universities worldwide. He co-authored with Jonathan Sherratt and Paul Dale a Bellman Prize winning paper (1997), and was awarded both a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship (2001-2) and a Royal Society-Wolfson Research Merit Award (2006-11).