January 2007 Issue of Physics Today Offers Feature Article on "Mathematical Adventures in Biology"

February 5, 2007

In its first issue of the new year, Physics Today has as its lead article a piece about problems in mathematical biology. Professor Michael W. Deem presents a short, personal tour of biological systems, which, he has written, reveals the flavor and variety of biological questions that might be "amenable to solution by mathematical analysis."

Deem, a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University, deals with several issues. One topic concerns a general question about the "mechanism of evolution in biology." Mathematical results, said Deem, "might quantify the probability of life as we know it" and might be tested in laboratory experiments.

Proteins, for instance, are composed of structurally distinct modules. The modular structure appears to facilitate evolution by permitting the insertion, deletion, and exchange of pieces of DNA that enclude protein functions. Understanding the relationship between the structure and subsequent evolutionary changes may be possible by mathematical analysis, posits Deem.

A second topic Deem addresses is a "practical aspect of pathegen evolution." In this case, said Deem, "mathematical results might aid drug or vaccine design, or they might predict the likelihood of future epidemics of the emergence of new pathegens."