Some Further Ideas and Prospects in Biomathematics

Abstract

In this chapter, which is intended as a partial preview to what follows, we select only a few ideas of more general conceptual character in the mathematical treatment of problems arising in biology. The choice of topics is dictated largely by my predilections and in no way shall we attempt to illustrate the vast and rapidly increasing field of applications of mathematical techniques or even, more generally, the mathematical mode of thinking in the enormous variety of problems in biological studies. Indeed, to present anything like a comprehensive picture would require bulky and manifold volumes of very heterogeneous contributions. Towards the end of this chapter, however, we shall list a number of biological fields where mathematical techniques have been employed.