We know, down to the tiniest details, the molecular structure of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Yet despite this tremendous accomplishment, and despite other remarkable advances in our understanding of individual viruses and cells of the immune system, we still have no agreed understanding of the ultimate course and variability of the pathogenesis of AIDS. Gaps in our understanding like these impede our efforts towards developing effective therapies and preventive vaccines. Martin Nowak and Robert M May describe the emerging field of theoretical immunology in this accessible and well- written text. Using mathematical modelling techniques, the authors set out their ideas about how populations of viruses and populations of immune system cells may interact in various circumstances, and how infectious diseases spread within patients. They explain how this approach to understanding infectious diseases can reveal insights into the dynamics of viral and other infections, and the interactions between infectious agents and immune responses. The book is structured around the examples of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B virus, although the approaches described will be more widely applicable. The authors use mathematical tools to uncover the detailed dynamics of the infection and the effects of antiviral therapy. Models are developed to describe the emergence of drug resistance, and the dynamics of immune responses, viral evolution, and mutation. The practical implications of this work for optimisation of the design of therapy and vaccines are discussed. The book concludes with a glance towards the future of this fascinating, and potentially highly useful, field of study.

Theoretical neuroscience provides a quantitative basis for describing what nervous systems do, determining how they function, and uncovering the general principles by which they operate. This text introduces the basic mathematical and computational methods of theoretical neuroscience and presents applications in a variety of areas including vision, sensory-motor integration, development, learning, and memory.The book is divided into three parts. Part I discusses the relationship between sensory stimuli and neural responses, focusing on the representation of information by the spiking activity of neurons. Part II discusses the modeling of neurons and neural circuits on the basis of cellular and synaptic biophysics. Part III analyzes the role of plasticity in development and learning. An appendix covers the mathematical methods used, and exercises are available on the book's Web site.

Thorough and accessible, this book presents the design principles of biological systems, and highlights the recurring circuit elements that make up biological networks. It provides a simple mathematical framework which can be used to understand and even design biological circuits. The text avoids specialist terms, focusing instead on several well-studied biological systems that concisely demonstrate key principles. "An Introduction to Systems Biology: Design Principles of Biological Circuits" builds a solid foundation for the intuitive understanding of general principles. It encourages the reader to ask why a system is designed in a particular way and then proceeds to answer with simplified models.

一本非常棒的生物物理入门书。适合物理背景的同学阅读。初版于1982年，今天读仍不过时。

本书以普季岑和芬克尔斯泰因教授的讲稿为基础，吸纳生物物理学的最新成果，汇编成书，并经国内生物物理领域的资深学者精心翻译为中文。书中的25讲涵盖了蛋白质结构、折叠和功能的主要论题，论述了纤维状蛋白质、膜蛋白质和球状蛋白质的天然与变性状态，体现了下列特色：系统总结了数十年来全世界范围内蛋白质物理学、蛋白质结构和折叠原理研究方面取得的成果；略去了复杂的数学推导，通过轻松的语言，运用类比等叙述方式，将艰深的统计物理、热力学等理论知识形象生动地展现给读者；每讲中会适时地插入“质疑”和“答疑”部分，启发读者进一步思索相关问题，从而加深对蛋白质结构、折叠和功能机理的认识。
本书可以作为高年级本科生、研究生的教材和教学参考书，也可供其他研究者阅读参考，针对的专业除了生物物理、分子生物学、细胞生物学、遗传学等生命科学相关领域以外，还包括化学生物学、物理学等领域。