Mathematics in Parasite Infections

"Rabbitears, you say -
"Apxr has also found that mathematical skills are essential in what he does."

Would this have anything to do with working out the rate in which these organisms multiply etc., Excuse me for being dumb, if it's a dumb question. LOL.

Just curious."

This is a perfectly logical question -- nothing dumb in it at all!

To answer your question, yes! Calculations would be required to know the infection rate, growth rate, etc. I've come across many articles that are heavy in mathematical calculations. Basic biology and science requires mathematics. Anyone doing any kind of scientific work would have to be knowledgeable in this area; I wouldn't be able to take someone very seriously if they didn't have the skills. Also, it would be critical to have the skills in calculations for treatment purposes too.

Let's take fungi/cancer, for instance. Mathematics would come into play in understanding how deep the penetration of the microbes are in and around the cells; understanding the prevalence, growth rate (fast/slow); damage to organs; calculations for precisely killing organisms; dosage controls for the killing process (slow/fast) so that it doesn't damage organs; tailoring a protocol specifically for an individual, etc. Those are just a few -- it is a lot more complicated than what I've explained.

As you can see, this may help explain why treating something blindly doesn't always work or can drive something deeper into the body if not done correctly.

Here's one article:


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071011125333.htm


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Here's another:

1994 Jun 24;264(5167):1884-6


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToS...


"Mathematical studies of parasitic infection and immunity."

The techniques that underpin modern molecular biology have been rapidly adopted by those interested in the major parasitic infections of humans. The parasitological literature is full of reports of genes and their amino acid sequences, of molecules, of cell membrane receptors and channels, and of the fine details of the immunological responses mounted by the host to combat infection. Much less enthusiasm has been shown for the mathematical techniques that facilitate the analysis and interpretation of dynamical processes such as transmission, evolution, and the interplay between parasite population growth and immunological responses within the host. Molecular techniques provide enormous opportunities for description, but ultimately, understanding biological systems with the precision that physicists and engineers aspire to in their own fields will require quantitative description of the many rate processes that dictate both an observed pattern and the dynamics of its change.

PMID: 8009218 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]



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