This volume brings together articles on the mathematical aspects of life sciences, astrophysics, and nonlinear wave problems. It covers theoretical problems associated with the nervous system, drosophila embryos, protein folding, biopolymers, protoplanetary disks and extrasolar planets, gaseous disks, spiral galaxies, dark matter dynamics, star formation, solitary waves, photonics, and nonlinear light propagation in periodic media. The contributions are written for a general audience, and the authors have included references for further reading.

Contents:

• Multiple Rhythms and Switches in the Nervous System (N Kopell et al.)
• Some Ideas on Action Potentials (D Y Hsieh)
• Negative Feedback in Morphogen Gradients (M Khong & F Y M Wan)
• CSAW: Stochastic Approach to Protein Folding (K Huang)
• "Collapse and Search" Dynamics of Protein Folding Detected by Time-Resolved Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (S Takahashi & T Fujisawa)
• Structural Transitions in Biopolymers: From DNA to Protein to Spider Silk (H Zhou)
• The Structure, Evolution and Instability of a Self-Gravitating Gaseous Disk under the Influence of Periodic Forcings (C Yuan)
• Dynamics of Spiral Galaxies (G Bertin)
• Dark Matter Dynamics in Galaxies (C-P Ma)
• Asymptotics and Star Formation (F H Shu)
• Solitary Waves from Optics to Fluid Dynamics (M J Ablowitz & A Docherty)
• Resonance Problems in Photonics (M I Weinstein)
• Some Mathematical Properties of Long Waves (D J Benney)
• New Solitary Wave Structures in Two-Dimensional Periodic Media (Z Shi & J Yang)

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