Biologists Use Mathematics to Advance Our Understanding of Health and Disease

Math models help scientists reason across scales in biology, such as from interactions between sick and healthy people to the spread of global pandemics. John Tyson, professor of biology at Virginia Tech, is creating such models to discover how cells process information and make decisions.

"Cells receive information in the form of chemical signals, physical attachments to other cells, or radiation damage, for instance," Tyson said. "On the basis of this information, the cells must make the correct response, such as to grow and divide, or to stop growing and repair damage, or to commit suicide."

Image credit:

Nicolle Rager, National Science Foundation