Do you know what's good for you: the next microscope
"Mathematics is biology's next microscope, only better." That's
what the scientist Joel E Cohen once said of the power of
mathematics to revolutionise biology and the biomedical
sciences. And he was right. Maths enables scientists to
understand complex organisms and diseases, it's crucial in
developing sophisticated medical technology and materials, and
we can even use it to model our psyche and intelligence. That's
quite beside its ability to cope with the vast complexity that
comes with biological information such as genomes and to
quantify the uncertainties involved. In this sense maths has
become a genuine research instrument for biomedical sciences.
The insight it gives them are on a par with the revolutionising
power of the microscope. This is the final package in our series
on the role of maths and stats in the biomedical sciences,
produced with generous support from the Wellcome Trust. We bring
together articles and podcasts exploring some of the us