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[Cover] [Abbreviated Contents] [Contents] [Index]

Page vii

		PREFACE

		"Fractals" and "chaos" have attracted wide attention and excitement in mathematics and the physical sciences.

		This book explains the properties of fractals and chaos and shows how they are now being used in biology and medicine.

		These ideas are presented in a way that is understandable to people who may not be familiar with advanced mathematical concepts.

		This is done by presenting one concept at a time on each set of facing pages. The left-hand page is text and the right-hand page is graphics. The text and graphics each explain the same concept in different ways. Sometimes the text and graphics provide similar information. Sometimes they provide complementary information.

		Nonspecialists can use this book to gain a basic understanding of fractals and chaos and their importance in biomedical research.

		Teachers in high school or college can use this book as the basis for a unit on fractals and chaos. The right-hand graphics pages can be copied onto transparencies to illustrate the concepts described on the facing left-hand pages.

		Biomedical scientists can use this book to understand how concepts from fractals and chaos are being used to study the shape and function of proteins, cell membranes, nerve cells, muscle cells, the lung, the heart, and the brain. They can see how to use these methods to analyze their own data and interpret the results.

		Acknowledgments

		I thank David Axelrod, Gregory Dewey, Zbigniew Grzywna, Leo Levine, Cynthia Park, Monika Sasksena, Daniela Scheurle, Virginia Standish, Angelo Todorov, and Michal Zochowski for their helpful comments and suggestions.

 

[Cover] [Abbreviated Contents] [Contents] [Index]