Putting the in Biology : A Review of The Mathematics of Life Reviewed

Charles Darwin’s 1859 work On the Origin of 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 themany 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 its way. It is mathematics. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I did not pass my high school biology exam (in the UK it was called the “Ordinary Level” exam, or “O” Level). Reading Chapter 2 of the book (“Creatures Small and Smaller”) brought back a lot of horrible memories about, well, memorization, particularly the names of all the components of a cell. Stewart does a good job of describing material I should have