Bruno Escribano - Böcker

This book collects recent advances in the field of nonlinear dynamics in biological systems. Focusing on medical applications as well as more fundamental questions in biochemistry, it presents recent findings in areas such as control in chemically driven reaction-diffusion systems, electrical wave propagation through heart tissue, neural network growth, chiral symmetry breaking in polymers and mechanochemical pattern formation in the cytoplasm, particularly in the context of cardiac cells. It is a compilation of works, including contributions from international scientists who attended the “2nd BCAM Workshop on Nonlinear Dynamics in Biological Systems,” held at the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics, Bilbao in September 2016. Embracing diverse disciplines and using multidisciplinary approaches – including theoretical concepts, simulations and experiments – these contributions highlight the nonlinear nature of biological systems in order to be able to reproducetheir complex behavior. Edited by the conference organizers and featuring results that represent recent findings and not necessarily those presented at the conference, the book appeals to applied mathematicians, biophysicists and computational biologists.

This book presents recent researchresults relating to applications of nonlinear dynamics, focusing specificallyon four topics of wide interest: heart dynamics, DNA/RNA, cell mobility, andproteins. The book derives from the First BCAM Workshop on Nonlinear Dynamicsin Biological Systems, held in June 2014 at the Basque Center of AppliedMathematics (BCAM). At this international meeting, researchers from differentbut complementary backgrounds, including molecular dynamics, physical chemistry,bio-informatics and biophysics, presented their most recent results anddiscussed the future direction of their studies using theoretical, mathematicalmodeling and experimental approaches. Such was the level of interest stimulatedthat the decision was taken to produce this publication, with the organizers ofthe event acting as editors. All of the contributing authors are researchers workingon diverse biological problems that can be approached using nonlinear dynamics.The book will appeal especially to applied mathematicians, biophysicists, andcomputational biologists.