BIOCALCULUS: CALCULUS, PROBABILITY, AND STATISTICS FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES shows students how calculus relates to biology, with a style that maintains rigor without being overly formal. The text motivates and illustrates the topics of calculus with examples drawn from many areas of biology, including genetics, biomechanics, medicine, pharmacology, physiology, ecology, epidemiology, and evolution, to name a few. Particular attention has been paid to ensuring that all applications of the mathematics are genuine, and references to the primary biological literature for many of these has been provided so that students and instructors can explore the applications in greater depth. Although the focus is on the interface between mathematics and the life sciences, the logical structure of the book is motivated by the mathematical material. Students will come away with a sound knowledge of mathematics, an understanding of the importance of mathematical arguments, and a clear understanding of how these mathematical concepts and techniques are central in the life sciences.

How genes are not the only basis of heredity-and what this means for evolution, human life, and disease For much of the twentieth century it was assumed that genes alone mediate the transmission of biological information across generations and provide the raw material for natural selection. In Extended Heredity, leading evolutionary biologists Russell Bonduriansky and Troy Day challenge this premise. Drawing on the latest research, they demonstrate that what happens during our lifetimes--and even our grandparents' and great-grandparents' lifetimes-can influence the features of our descendants. On the basis of these discoveries, Bonduriansky and Day develop an extended concept of heredity that upends ideas about how traits can and cannot be transmitted across generations. By examining the history of the gene-centered view in modern biology and reassessing fundamental tenets of evolutionary theory, Bonduriansky and Day show that nongenetic inheritance-involving epigenetic, environmental, behavioral, and cultural factors-could play an important role in evolution. The discovery of nongenetic inheritance therefore has major implications for key questions in evolutionary biology, as well as human health. Extended Heredity reappraises long-held ideas and opens the door to a new understanding of inheritance and evolution.

"A wonderfully pedagogical introduction to mathematical modeling in population biology: an ideal first course for biologists."--Simon A. Levin, Princeton University

"This book is an amazing teaching resource for developing a comprehensive understanding of the methods and importance of biological modeling. But more than that, this book should be read by every student of evolutionary biology and ecology so that they can come to a deeper appreciation of the fundamental ideas and models that underlie these fields."--Patrick C. Phillips, University of Oregon

"There is an increasing use of mathematics throughout the biological sciences, yet the training of most biologists still woefully lacks crucial mathematical tools. Sally Otto and Troy Day are themselves two masters at the deft use of theoretical models to crystallize conceptual insights about ecological and evolutionary problems, and in this wonderful book they make accessible to a broad audience the essential mathematical tool kit biologists need, both to read the literature and to craft and analyze models themselves."--Robert D. Holt, University of Florida

"I am often asked by biologists to recommend a book on mathematical modeling, but I must tell them that there is no single good book that will guide them through the difficult first stages of learning to make models. Otto and Day's book fills the gap. The quality is high throughout, the scholarship is sound, the book is comprehensive. The authors are both first-rate scientists. I think this will be a classic."--Steven A. Frank, author of "Immunology and Evolution of Infectious Disease"

"This book provides a general introduction to mathematical modeling--in particular, topopulation modeling--in the biological sciences. This past year I taught a 400-level course in mathematical modeling of biological systems, and I had to do so without a textbook because no adequate text existed. Otto and Day's book would have met my needs beautifully. This book is an important addition to the field."--Carl Bergstrom, University of Washington

"This book has the ambitious and worthy goal of teaching biologists enough about modeling and about mathematical methods to be both intelligent consumers of models and competent creators of their own models. Its concentration on the process of building rather than analyzing models is its strongest point."--Frederick R. Adler, author of "Modeling the Dynamics of Life: Calculus and Probability for Life Scientists"

There is much more to heredity than genes For much of the twentieth century it was assumed that genes alone mediate the transmission of biological information across generations and provide the raw material for natural selection. Yet, it's now clear that genes are not the only basis of heredity. In Extended Heredity, evolutionary biologists Russell Bonduriansky and Troy Day explore the latest research showing that what happens during our lifetimes-and even our parents' and grandparents' lifetimes-can influence the features of our descendants. Based on this evidence, Bonduriansky and Day develop an extended concept of heredity that upends ideas about how traits can and cannot be transmitted across generations, opening the door to a new understanding of inheritance, evolution, and even human health.