Theoretical biology 1693278 209432123 2008-05-01T11:04:05Z Alan Liefting 36352 -redund cat '''Theoretical biology''' is a field of academic study and research that involves the use of [[model]]s and [[theory|theories]] in [[biology]]. Many separate areas of biology fall under the concept of theoretical biology, according to the way they are studied. Some of these areas include: animal behaviour ([[ethology]]), [[biomechanics]], [[biorhythm]]s, [[cell biology]], [[complexity]] of biological systems, [[ecology]], [[enzyme kinetics]], [[evolutionary biology]], [[genetics]], [[immunology]], [[membrane transport]], [[microbiology]], [[Molecular geometry|molecular structure]]s, [[morphogenesis]], [[physiology|physiological mechanisms]], [[systems biology]] and the [[origin of life]]. [[Neuroscience|Neurobiology]] is an example of a subdiscipline of biology which already has a theoretical version of its own, theoretical or [[computational neuroscience]]. The ultimate goal of the theoretical biologist is to explain the biological world using mainly [[mathematics|mathematical]] and [[computer|computational]] tools. Though it is ultimately based on observations and experimental results, the theoretical biologist's product is a model or theory, and it is this that chiefly distinguishes the theoretical biologist from other biologists. ==Theoretical biologists== *[[Pere Alberch]] *[[Ludwig von Bertalanffy]] *[[Jack Cowan]] *[[Francis Crick]] *[[Claus Emmeche]] *[[Marc Feldman]] *[[Brian Goodwin]] *[[Bryan Grenfell]] *[[J. B. S. Haldane]] *[[Lionel G. Harrison]] *[[Michael Hassell]] *[[Sven Erik Jørgensen]] *[[Stuart Kauffman]] *[[Kalevi Kull]] *[[Richard Lewontin]] *[[Humberto Maturana]] *[[Robert May]] *[[John Maynard Smith]] *[[James D. Murray]] *[[Howard Pattee]] *[[Erik Rauch]] *[[Nicolas Rashevsky]] *[[Johannes Reinke]] *[[Robert Rosen]] *[[Peter Schuster]] *[[Rene Thom]] *[[D'Arcy Thompson]] *[[Jakob von Uexküll]] *[[Robert Ulanowicz]] *[[Francisco Varela]] *[[C. H. Waddington]] *[[Arthur Winfree]] *[[Lewis Wolpert]] *[[Christopher Zeeman]] ==See also== *[[Journal of Theoretical Biology]] *[[Bioinformatics]] *[[Biosemiotics]] *[[Mathematical biology]] *[[Theoretical ecology]] *[[Artificial life]] ==Bibliographical references== * Bonner, J. T. 1988. ''The Evolution of Complexity by Means of Natural Selection''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. * Hertel, H. 1963. ''Structure, Form, Movement''. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corp. * Mangel, M. 1990. ''Special Issue, Classics of Theoretical Biology'' (part 1). Bull. Math. Biol. 52(1/2): 1-318. * Prusinkiewicz, P. & Lindenmeyer, A. 1990. ''The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants''. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. * [[Johannes Reinke|Reinke, J.]] 1901. ''Einleitung in die theoretische Biologie''. Berlin: Verlag von Gebrüder Paetel. * [[D'Arcy Thompson|Thompson, D.W.]] 1942. ''On Growth and Form''. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 2. vols. * [[Jakob von Uexküll|Uexküll, J.v.]] 1920. ''Theoretische Biologie''. Berlin: Gebr. Paetel. * Vogel, S. 1988. ''Life's Devices: The Physical World of Animals and Plants''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. * [[C. H. Waddington|Waddington, C.H.]] 1968-1972. ''Towards a Theoretical Biology''. 4 vols. Edinburg: Edinburg University Press. ==External links== * [http://homepage.uibk.ac.at/~c720126/humanethologie/ws/medicus/block1/inhalt.html Theory of Biological Anthropology (Documents No. 9 and 10 in English)] * [http://www.scientistsolutions.com/t5844-Drawing+the+line+between+Theoretical+and+Basic+Biology.html Drawing the Line Between Theoretical and Basic Biology (a forum article by Isidro T. Savillo)] ===Related Journals=== * [http://www.springerlink.com/link.asp?id=102835 Acta Biotheoretica] * [http://bioinformatics.oupjournals.org/ Bioinformatics] * [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/biot/ Biological Theory] * [http://www.elsevier.com/locate/biosystems BioSystems] * [http://www.springerlink.com/content/119979/ Bulletin of Mathematical Biology] * [http://www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/03043800 Ecological Modelling] * [http://www.springerlink.com/content/100436/ Journal of Mathematical Biology] * [http://www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/0022-5193 Journal of Theoretical Biology] * [http://publishing.royalsociety.org/index.cfm?page=1058# Journal of the Royal Society Interface] * [http://www.elsevier.com/locate/mbs Mathematical Biosciences] * [http://www.harcourt-international.com/journals/mehy/ Medical Hypotheses] * [http://www.tilgher.it/biologiae.html Rivista di Biologia-Biology Forum] * [http://www.springerlink.com/content/100386/ Theoretical and Applied Genetics] * [http://www.tbiomed.com/ Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling] * [http://www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/00405809 Theoretical Population Biology] * [http://www.elsevier.com/wps/product/cws_home/701802 Theory in Biosciences] (formerly: Biologisches Zentralblatt) ===Related societies=== * [http://www.ams.org/ American Mathematical Society] * [http://www.dundee.ac.uk/lifesciences/BSDB/ British Society of Developmental Biology] * [http://www.maths.soton.ac.uk/EMIS European Mathematical Society] * [http://www.esmtb.org/ ESMTB: European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology] * [http://www.tibs.org/ The International Biometric Society] * [http://www.isemna.org/ International Society for Ecological Modelling] * [http://bioinformatics.weizmann.ac.il/istmb/ The Israeli Society for Theoretical and Mathematical Biology] * [http://www.lms.ac.uk/ London Mathematical Society] * [http://www.necker.fr/sfbt/ Société Francophone de Biologie Théorique] * [http://www.siam.org/ Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics] * [http://www.smb.org/ Society for Mathematical Biology] * [http://www.biosemiotics.org/ International Society for Biosemiotic Studies] [[Category:Theoretical biology| ]] [[Category:Applied mathematics]] [[Category:Bioinformatics|T]] [[Category:Biostatistics]] [[Category:Mathematical biology]] [[de:Theoretische Biologie]] [[et:Teoreetiline bioloogia]] [[es:Biología teórica]] [[ja:理論生物学]] [[zh:理論生物學]]