Theoretical models in biology : the origin of life, the immune system, and the brain / Glenn Rowe.

Author
Rowe, Glenn (Glenn W.) [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Oxford ; New York : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1994.
Description
xvi, 420 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
ReCAP - Remote StorageQP406 .R677 1994 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Summary note
    • This book surveys theoretical models in three broad areas of biology (the origin of life, the immune system, and memory in the brain), introducing mathematical and (mainly) computational methods that have been used to construct simulations.
    • Most current books on theoretical biology fall into one of two categories: (a) books that specialize in one area of biology and treat theoretical models in considerable depth; and (b) books that concentrate on purely mathematical models, with computers used only to find numerical solutions to differential equations, for example.
    • Although some mathematical models are considered in this book, the main emphasis is on stochastic computer models of biological systems. Such techniques have a much greater potential for producing detailed, realistic models of individual systems, and are likely to be the preferred modelling methods of the future. By considering three different areas in biology, the book shows how several of these modelling techniques have been successfully applied in diverse areas.
    • Put simply, this book is important because it shows how the power of modern computers is allowing researchers in theoretical biology to break free of the constraints modelling that were imposed by the traditional differential equation approach.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (p. [405]-412) and index.
    Contents
    • I. The Origin of Life. 1. The molecular basis of life. 2. Molecular evolution and quasi-species. 3. Stochastic processes. 4. A spin glass model of the origin of life. 5. The origin of the genetic code. 6. Hypercycles. 7. Artificial life
    • II. The Immune System. 8. The immune system. 9. Bell's model. 10. Adaptive walks. 11. Maturation of the immune response. 12. The symmetric immune network model. 13. A shape space network model. 14. AIDS
    • III. The Brain. 15. Neurons and synapses. 16. Memory. 17. The McCulloch-Pitts neural net. 18. Perceptrons. 19. Connectionism. 20. Attractor neural networks. 21. Unsupervised learning. 22. Evolutionary learning
    • A Differential equations
    • B A statistics primer
    • C Computer simulation.
    ISBN
    • 019859688X (hbk.) :
    • 0198596871 (pbk.)
    LCCN
    93040873
    OCLC
    29313178
    RCP
    C - S
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