Biostatistics 3878 225073260 2008-07-11T19:24:07Z 160.129.132.41 /* Related fields */ {{for|the automated recognition of people based on intrinsic physical or behavioural traits|Biometrics}} '''Biostatistics''' (a [[portmanteau]] word made from biology and statistics; sometimes referred to as '''biometry''' or '''biometrics''') is the application of [[statistics]] to a wide range of topics in [[biology]]. The science of biostatistics encompasses the design of biological experiments, especially in [[medicine]] and [[agriculture]]; the collection, summarization, and analysis of data from those experiments; and the interpretation of, and inference from, the results. == Biostatistics and the history of biological thought == Biostatistical reasoning and modeling were of critical importance to the foundation theories of modern biology. In the early 1900s, after the rediscovery of [[Mendel|Mendel's]] work, the conceptual gaps in understanding between [[genetics]] and evolutionary [[Darwinism]] led to vigorous debate between biometricians such as [[Walter Frank Raphael Weldon|Walter Weldon]] and [[Karl Pearson]] and Mendelians such as [[Charles Benedict Davenport|Charles Davenport]], [[William Bateson]] and [[Wilhelm Johannsen]]. By the 1930s statisticians and models built on statistical reasoning had helped to resolve these differences and to produce the neo-Darwinian [[modern evolutionary synthesis]]. The leading figures in the establishment of this synthesis all relied on statistics and developed its use in biology. * [[Ronald Fisher|Sir Ronald A. Fisher]] developed several basic statistical methods in support of his work ''[[The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection]]'' * [[Sewall G. Wright]] used statistics in the development of modern [[population genetics]] * [[J. B. S. Haldane|J. B. S Haldane's]] book, ''The Causes of Evolution'', reestablished natural selection as the premier mechanism of evolution by explaining it in terms of the mathematical consequences of Mendelian genetics. These individuals and the work of other biostatisticians, [[mathematical biology|mathematical biologists]], and statistically inclined geneticists helped bring together [[evolutionary biology]] and [[genetics]] into a consistent, coherent whole that could begin to be [[quantitative]]ly modeled. In parallel to this overall development, the pioneering work of [[D'Arcy Thompson]] in ''On Growth and Form'' also helped to add quantitative discipline to biological study. Despite the fundamental importance and frequent necessity of statistical reasoning, there may nonetheless have been a tendency among biologists to distrust or deprecate results which are not [[qualitative data|qualitatively]] apparent. One anecdote describes [[Thomas Hunt Morgan]] banning the [[Frieden calculator]] from his department at [[Caltech]], saying "Well, I am like a guy who is prospecting for gold along the banks of the Sacramento River in 1849. With a little intelligence, I can reach down and pick up big nuggets of gold. And as long as I can do that, I'm not going to let any people in my department waste scarce resources in placer mining."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tilsonfunds.com/MungerUCSBspeech.pdf|title=Academic Economics: Strengths and Faults After Considering Interdisciplinary Needs|author=Charles T. Munger|date=2003-10-03}}</ref> Educators are now adjusting their curricula to focus on more quantitative concepts and tools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reinventioncenter.miami.edu/Spotlights/BioMath.htm|title=Spotlight:application of quantitative concepts and techniques in undergraduate biology}}</ref> == Education and training programs == Almost all educational programmes in biostatistics are at [[postgraduate]] level. They are most often found in schools of public health, affiliated with schools of medicine, forestry, or agriculture or as a focus of application in departments of statistics. In the [[United States]], while several universities have dedicated biostatistics departments, many other top-tier universities integrate biostatistics faculty into statistics or other departments, such as [[epidemiology]]. Thus departments carrying the name "biostatistics" may exist under quite different structures. For instance, relatively new biostatistics departments have been founded with a focus on [[bioinformatics]] and [[computational biology]], whereas older departments, typically affiliated with schools of [[public health]], will have more traditional lines of research involving epidemiological studies and [[clinical trial]]s as well as bioinformatics. In larger universities where both a statistics and a biostatistics department exist, the degree of integration between the two departments may range from the bare minimum to very close collaboration. In general, the difference between a statistics program and a biostatistics one is twofold: (i) statistics departments will often host theoretical/methodological research which are less common in biostatistics programs and (ii) statistics departments have lines of research that may include biomedical applications but also other areas such as industry ([[quality control]]), business and [[economics]] and biological areas other than medicine. == Applications of biostatistics== * [[Public health]], including [[epidemiology]], [[health services research]], [[nutrition]], and [[environmental health]] * Design and analysis of [[clinical trial]]s in [[medicine]] * [[Genomics]], [[population genetics]], and [[statistical genetics]] in populations in order to link variation in [[genotype]] with a variation in [[phenotype]]. This has been used in agriculture to improve crops and farm animals. In biomedical research, this work can assist in finding candidates for [[gene]] [[alleles]] that can cause or influence predisposition to disease in [[human genetics]] * [[Ecology]] * Biological [[sequence analysis]] Statistical methods are beginning to be integrated into [[medical informatics]], [[public health informatics]], and [[bioinformatics]] == Related fields == Biostatistics draws quantitative methods from fields such as: *[[statistics]], *[[operations research]], *[[computer science]], *[[psychometrics]], *[[economics]], and, generally, *[[mathematics]] ==See also== * [[List of publications in medicine#Biostatistics| Important publications in biostatistics]] * [[Quantitative parasitology]] ==External links== * [http://www.tibs.org The International Biometric Society] * [http://www.biostatsresearch.com/repository/ The Collection of Biostatistics Research Archive] * [http://www.medpagetoday.com/Medpage-Guide-to-Biostatistics.pdf Guide to Biostatistics (MedPageToday.com)] * [http://hbpms.blogspot.com/2008/05/stage-4-biostatistics.html A List of Biostatistics textbook and free online material.] ==Journals== * [http://www.bepress.com/sagmb/ Statistical Applications in Genetics and Molecular Biology] * [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/2988 Statistics in Medicine ] * [http://www.bepress.com/ijb/ The International Journal of Biostatistics] *[http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/10543406.asp Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics] *[http://www.biostatistics.oxfordjournals.org/ Biostatistics ] *[http://www.tibs.org/biometrics/ Biometrics ] *[http://biomet.oxfordjournals.org/ Biometrika ] *[http://www.biometrical-journal.de/ Biometrical Journal ] == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Biostatistics| ]] [[Category:Bioinformatics]] [[Category:Public health]] [[Category:Demography]] [[de:Biostatistik]] [[es:Bioestadística]] [[he:ביומטריה]] [[ml:ബയോ-ഇന്‍ഫര്‍മാറ്റിക്സ്‌]] [[ja:生物統計学]] [[ug:بىئوستاتىستىكا]] [[pt:Bioestatística]] [[ru:Биостатистика]] [[fi:Biometria]] [[sv:Biostatistik]] [[th:ชีวสถิติ]] [[tr:Biyometri]] [[zh:生物统计学]]