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Latest News |
| 15th
February 2010 / Times of India / Ahmedabad Edition |
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Are you game for mathematical biology?
IIScs MathBio To Bring Together Researchers Working
In Mathematical, Biological Sciences
Bangalore: This is as cutting-edge as it can get for science
research students. IISc now has a new centre, MathBio
or the Centre for Mathematical Biology, that is bringing
together researchers working in both mathematical and
biological sciences to address problems that are biological
in nature.
The centre will conduct frontline research in three areas
neuroscience, genomics and proteomics (mechanics of cells).
Mathematical and theoretical biology is an interdisciplinary
academic research field with applications in biology,
medicine and biotechnology. You can call it mathematical
biology or biomathematics to emphasise the mathematical
side, or as theoretical biology to focus on the biological
side, IISc scholars told TOI.
The centre plans to develop tools and techniques for modelling,
analysis, computations and simulations and will apply
general mathematical principles like differential equations,
probability and algorithms to understand biological problems.
For instance, in cell biology, precise mathematical models
are required. By describing biological systems, cluster
of cells in a quantitative manner, their behaviour can
be better simulated, and hence properties can be predicted
that might not be evident otherwise.
Scholars say the mathematics-biology collaboration has
a long history, but only recently has there been an explosion
of interest in the field. The genomics revolution , development
of mathematical tools such as chaos theory to understand
nonlinear mechanisms in biology, increase in computing
power which enables calculations and simulations to be
performed that were not previously possible, and high
interest in-silico experimentation in human and animal
research are just some of the reasons why this has happened,
IISc researchers point out.
The centre is expanding its canvas to have scientists
from other fields involved in the mathematics-biology
collaboration.
Physicists, biophysicists, biochemists, bioengineers,
physiologists, biomedical researchers , oncologists, molecular
biologists, geneticists, embryologists, zoologists, chemists
are just some group of scientists who will be interacting
with scientists at the centre.
IISc MATHBIO CENTRE
Supported and funded by department of science and technology
Combines mathematics and biology
Will focus on neuroscience, genomics, proteomics
The centre is expanding its canvas to have scientists
from other fields involved in the mathematics-biology
collaboration
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