Quantitative Biology: Life from the Numbers

Biology at all scales has become a data-driven science, with large-scale datasets driving fields from population genomics to ecology. Practicing biologists have no choice but to use computational approaches, statistics, modeling, and other data science tools in their research. However, undergraduate biology education still primarily focuses on nonquantitative descriptions. This book provides students whose background is in biology with an introduction to modeling biological systems using mathematical, computational, and statistical tools. It is based on a series of hands-on analyses conducted with open-source tools that allow the students to discover for themselves emergent properties of biological systems that are not evident without using model-based approaches. The goal of this book is to provide a "turn-key" introductory quantitative biology course suitable for all biology students. The book provides the narrative for the analyses and discussions to be done in class, with support from the included website, slides, and test material.Key FeaturesWritten in an accessible, narrative styleIncludes hands-on analyses with open-source toolsIntegrates biology across spatial and temporal scalesLinks to a course website with interactive toolsBrings biological education into the "data science" eraEach chapter includes a variety of exercises designed to actively engage the readerLecture slides and animations to cover the key arguments and derivations in each chapter, as well as example exam questions, are available for qualified instructors. Read more