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Computational biology

Beyond the spherical cow

Nature volume 411, pages 151–152 (2001)Cite this article

Computational and mathematical models are helping biologists to understand the beating of a heart, the molecular dances underlying the cell-division cycle and cell movement, and much more.

The sequencing of the human genome has inspired many to anticipate a time when the most complicated biological phenomena will be understood in detail. But sceptics worry that a simple list of genes and proteins, no matter how complete, will be as useless to biologists as a list of a computer's transistors would be to an understanding of the software used to browse the online version of this article. At a recent meetingFootnote 1, however, both sides found cause for optimism in computational and mathematical approaches to complement experiments in unravelling complex biological processes.

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Notes

  1. *First International Symposium on Computational Cell Biology. Cranwell Resort, Lenox, Massachusetts, USA. 4–6 March 2001. http://www.nrcam.uchc.edu/conference

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  1. Department of Control and Dynamical Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, 91125, California, USA

    John Doyle

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  1. John Doyle
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Correspondence to John Doyle.

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Doyle, J. Beyond the spherical cow. Nature 411, 151–152 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35075703

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