On Growth, Form and Computers - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0124287654 ISBN 13: 9780124287655

Publisher: Academic Press, 2003

Synopsis

Conceived for both computer scientists and biologists alike, this collection of 22 essays highlights the important new role that computers play in developmental biology research. Essays show how through computer modeling, researchers gain further insight into developmental processes. Featured essays also cover their use in designing computer algorithms to tackle computer science problems in areas like neural network design, robot control, evolvable hardware, and more. Peter Bentley, noted for his prolific research on evolutionary computation, and Sanjeev Kumar head up a respected team to guide readers through these very complex and fascinating disciplines.

* Covers both developmental biology and computational development -- the only book of its kind!
* Provides introductory material and more detailed information on BOTH disciplines
* Includes contribututions from Richard Dawkins, Lewis Wolpert, Ian Stewart, and many other experts

About this title

About the Author

Peter J. Bentley is a Honorary Research Fellow at University College London, known for his research covering all aspects of EC, including multiobjective optimization, constraint handling, artificial immune systems, computational embryology and more, and applied to diverse applications including floor-planning, control, fraud-detection, and music composition. He speaks regularly at international conferences, and is a consultant, convenor, chair and reviewer for workshops, conferences, journals and books on Evolutionary Design and Evolutionary Computation. He has been a guest editor of special issues on Evolutionary Design and Creative Evolutionary Systems in journals, and is the editor of the book Evolutionary Design by Computers (MKP) and is the author of the popular science book, Digital Biology, to publish in May 2001.

From the Back Cover

On Growth, Form and Computers provides an authoritative introduction to developmental biology and computational development. By augmenting experimental biology with computer models of development, biologists are building a greater understanding of how developmental processes such as pattern formation, morphogenesis, cell signalling and regeneration construct the staggering complexities of living organisms. At the same time, by creating computer algorithms based on developmental processes, computer scientists are enabling computers to solve a range of challenging problems such as neural network design and robot control.

Organized into five sections, this book comprehensively discusses developmental biology, analytical models of developmental biology, the role of physics in development, computational models inspired by developmental biology and real-world applications of computational development software.

As disciplines increasingly merge in areas such as computational biology and bioinformatics, this book forms a much-needed interface between the fields of developmental biology and computer science, providing an invaluable reference for researchers and students in evolutionary biology, artificial life, anatomy and evolutionary computation.

Key features:

* Foreword written by Prof. John H. Holland
* Includes chapters from many of the best and most respected scientists in their fields (including Randall Beer, Richard Dawkins, Hans Meinhardt, Ian Stewart and Lewis Wolpert)
* Provides both introductory and more detailed material on these two very complex disciplines, making key biological and computational concepts and ideas clear
* Shows biologists the usefulness of computational models and computer scientists the usefulness of developmental algorithms
* Glossary covering both computer science and developmental biology terminology

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0124287654
• ISBN 13: 9780124287655
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 472
• Editor: Kumar Sanjeev, Bentley Peter J.