Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

2011

Publication Title

Notices of the American Mathematical Society

Volume

58

Issue

11

Pages

1572-1578

Abstract

(First Paragraph) Charles Darwin's 1859 work On the Origin of the Species contained no equations. But that does not mean mathematics has no role to play in the science of life; in fact, the field of biomathematics is burgeoning and has been for several decades. Ian Stewart's new book does an admirable job of unfolding the mathematics undergirding so much of the research being carried out today in the many fields that comprise the subject of biology. Stewart sets the context by noting five great revolutions that have changed the way scientists think about life. These five revolutions are: (i) the microscope; (ii) classification; (iii) evolution; (iv) genetics, and (v) the structure of DNA. The sixth, Stewart says, is well on it's way. It is mathematics.

Comments

First published in Notices of the American Mathematical Society, Volume 58, Issue 11, published by the American Mathematical Society.

Included with the kind permission of the publisher.

Original Publication Citation

Adam, J. (2011). Putting the X in biology: A review of The Mathematics of Life. Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 58(11), 1572-1578.

ORCID

0000-0001-5537-2889 (Adam)

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