Rethinking biology, with math in tow
Seema Singh -
Sunday, August 02, 2009 5:44 PM
For long, biology and math have been somewhat mutually exclusive, at least in this part of the world and in initial years of education. In any case, introducing math to biologists later in career turns out a tad too late or difficult for optimal use.
Now, a large part of the scientific community is rethinking biology education, which apparently needs to undergo mutation, one that is induced by mathematics. Computing Has Transformed Biology -- Biology Education Must Catch Up, is the title of a paper in this week's Science. The authors argue that the recent marriage of advanced computing with biological research - now known as bioinformatics - demands that undergraduate biology curricula be revamped in order to prepare students to use and understand these new tools and concepts.
They say that an additional required course, focused on algorithmic, mathematical, and statistical concepts in biology, should provide biology students with the foundation to understand more complex computation
In another paper, Mathematical Biology Education: Beyond Calculus, two authors suggest that biology students might be getting enough calculus - but not enough algebra. They say algebraic models have many of the features necessary for integrating math and science, though they receive less attention than models based on differential equations or other continuous-time models. They insist that these algebraic models, which in many cases can be simpler to conceive, develop and interpret, should be considered critical for the professional development of the new generation of biologists.
(Even if a biologist is missing the math gene, as this cartoon shows, one has little choice if a serious career in biology is to be made ;)
Back home, while there is an interesting debate going on among academics on biology as a discipline and an enterprise, I am not sure if there is any serious effort at the undergrad level to revamp the curricula, similar to what the US National Science Foundation is doing. The NSF convened a huge gathering of 500 researchers and policy makers in DC last month to chart a course for biology. Their belief: improving introductory biology is a critical step toward raising the nation's scientific literacy.
But what is heartening is to see the department of biotechnology trying to encourage more bio-enterprises. Last week a first-of-its kind contest - BEST 2009-came to a close in Bangalore. It was executed by the Association of Biotech Led Enterprises in which it received over 150 concept notes from various student teams (across the country) to start bio-enterprises, then selected 20 to attend the intensive workshop at Bangalore and picked three teams as winners. More about the winners here.