?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=COMPUTER+MODELS+AND+AUTOMATA+THEORY%0AIN+BIOLOGY+AND+MEDICINE%0A%0A&rft.creator=Baianu%2C+Professor+I.+C.&rft.subject=Theoretical+Biology&rft.description=The+applications+of+computers+to+biological+and+biomedical+problem+solving+go+back+to+the+very+beginnings+of+computer+science%2C+automata+theory+%5B1%5D%2C+and+mathematical+biology+%5B2%5D.+With+the+advent+of+more+versatile+and+powerful+computers%2C+biological+and+biomedical+applications+of+computers+have+proliferated+so+rapidly+that+it+would+be+virtually+impossible+to+compile+a+comprehensive+review+of+all+developments+in+this+field.++Limitations+of+computer+simulations+in+biology+have+also+come+under+close+scrutiny%2C+and+claims+have+been+made+that+biological+systems+have+limited+information+processing+power+%5B3%5D.+Such+general+conjectures+do+not%2C+however%2C+deter+biologists+and+biomedical+researchers+from+developing+new+computer+applications+in+biology+and+medicine.+Microprocessors+are+being+widely+employed+in+biological+laboratories+both+for+automatic+data+acquisition%2Fprocessing+and+modeling%3B+one+particular+area%2C+which+is+of+great+biomedical+interest%2C+involves+fast+digital+image+processing+and+is+already+established+for+routine+clinical+examinations+in+radiological+and+nuclear+medicine+centers%2C+Powerful+techniques+for+biological+research+are+routinely+employing+dedicated%2C+on-line+microprocessors+or+array+processors%3B+among+such+techniques+are%3A+Fourier-transform+nuclear+magnetic+resonance+(NMR)%2C+NMR+imaging+(or+tomography)%2C+%0Ax-ray+tomography%2C+x-ray+diffraction%2C+high+performance+liquid+chromatography%2C+differential+scanning+calorimetry+and+mass+spectrometry.+Networking+of+laboratory+microprocessors+linked+to+a+central%2C+large+memory+computer+is+the+next+logical+step+in+laboratory+automation.+Previously+unapproachable+problems%2C+such+as+molecular+dynamics+of+solutions%2C+many-body+interaction+calculations+and+statistical+mechanics+of+biological+processes+are+all+likely+to+benefit+from+the+increasing+access+to+the+new+generation+of+%22supercomputers%22.+In+view+of+the+large+number%2C+diversity+and+complexity+of+computer+applications+in+biology+and+medicine%2C+we+could+not+review+in+any+degree+of+detail+all+computer+applications+in+these+fields%3B+instead%2C+we+shall+be+selective+and+focus+our+discussion+on+suggestive+computer+models+of+biological+systems+and+those+fundamental+aspects+of+computer+applications+that+are+likely+to+continue+to+make+an+impact+on+biological+and+biomedical+research.+Thus%2C+we+shall+consider+unifying+trends+in+mathematics%2C+mathematical+logics+and+computer+science+that+are+relevant+to+computer+modeling+of+biological+and+biomedical+systems.+The+latter+are+pitched+at+a+more+formal%2C+abstract+level+than+the+applications+and%2C+therefore%2C+encompass+a+number+of+concepts+drawn+from+the+abstract+theory+of+sets+and+relations%2C+network+theory%2C+automata+theory%2C+Boolean+and+n-valued+logics%2C+abstract+algebra%2C+topology+and+category+theory.+The+present+analysis+of+relational+theories+in+biology+and+computer+simulation+has+also+inspired+a+number+of+new+results+which+are+presented+here+as+%22Conjectures%22+since+their+proofs+are+too+lengthy+and+too+technical+to+be+included+in+this+review.+In+order+to+maintain+a+self-contained+presentation-the+definitions+of+the+main+concepts+are+given%2C+with+the+exception+of+a+minimum+of+simple+mathematical+concepts.+%0AThe+purpose+of+these+theoretical+sections+is+to+provide+the+basis+for+approaching+a+number+of+basic+biological+questions%3A+%0A%0A(1)+What+are+the+essential+characteristics+of+a+biological+organism+as+opposed+to+an+automaton%3F+%0A(2)+Are+biological+systems+recursively+computable%3F+%0A(3)+What+is+the+structure+of+the+simplest+(primordial)+organism%3F+%0A(4)+What+are+the+basic+structures+of+neural+and+genetic+networks%3F+%0A(5)+What+are+the+common+properties+of+classes+of+biological+organisms%3F+%0A(6)+Which+system+representations+are+adequate+for+biodynamics%3F+%0A(7)+What+is+the+optimal+strategy+for+modifying+an+organism+through+genetic+engineering%3F+(8)+What+is+the+optimal+simulation+of+a+biological+system+with+a+digital+or+analog+computer%3F+%0A(9)+What+is+life%3F+%0A&rft.publisher=Pergamon+Press%2C+Ltd.&rft.contributor=Witten%2C+Professor+Matthew&rft.date=1987&rft.type=Book+Chapter&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3687%2F1%2FCOMPUTERMODELSAUTOMATA_THEORYCOGNITIVEBIOLOGYMEDminOK.htm&rft.identifier=++Baianu%2C+Professor+I.+C.++(1987)+COMPUTER+MODELS+AND+AUTOMATA+THEORY+IN+BIOLOGY+AND+MEDICINE.++%5BBook+Chapter%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3687%2F