A confluence of aesthetic and analytics in theoretical biology

The book is a confluence of aesthetic and analytics in theoretical biology, which continues to be somewhat inaccessible for many despite its significant contributions to the scientific understanding of nature, biology, and medicine.

With The Art of Theoretical Biology, the editors Franziska Matthäus, Sebastian Matthäus, Sarah Anne Harris, and Thomas Hillen celebrate the diverse world of scientific data through showcasing compiled images from data analysis, numerical treatment of a model, or simulation results.

Throughout the journey of their book, at the nexus of art and science, they communicate scientific knowledge and understanding through compelling images and visualize theoretical biology.

The book is a collection of 71 contributions from more than 120 authors. Each contributing author provides a personal insight into the scientific aspect as well as a short explanation of the artistic vision displayed, in their own words.

The reader is, therefore, able to discover the hidden beauty of roots, dives into landscapes of lymph nodes, which all symbolize how theoretical biology represents more than numbers and formulas.

The images show how beauty can arise in the darkest of places, such as in the breakdown of cell function during cancer, and how complexity generates richness in unexpected ways."

The Editors

Their work is an inspiring contribution to visualize science creatively and through different eyes. It is suited to experts and non-experts alike as it makes things that are not easily accessible, like the field of oncology, more accessible.

If one is open to view something through a different pair of eyes, one is open to a new way of thinking and to support discoveries. The images in the book expose how creativity, both in science and art, is essentially about advancing discoveries.