title: Mathematical models in biology: from molecules to life.
abstract: A vexing question in the biological sciences is the following: can biological phenotypes be explained with mathematical models of molecules that interact according to physical laws? At the crux of the matter lies the doubt that humans can develop physically faithful mathematical representations of living organisms. We discuss advantages that synthetic biological systems confer that may help us describe life's distinctiveness with tractable mathematics that are grounded on universal laws of thermodynamics and molecular biology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. yiannis@umn.edu
authors.forename: Yiannis N
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Kaznessis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods*; D013816:Thermodynamics