Report of iTHEMS Biology Seminar

iTHEMS Biology Seminar was held on September 13, inviting Prof. Hiroyuki Kubota (Kyushu University) and Dr. Yasufumi Uezu (NTT). The theme of this seminar is “mathematical biology in temporal waveforms.” Prof. Kubota revealed that the temporal patterns of blood insulin concentration selectively regulate downstream molecules depending on network structure and time constant. His discovery is important for understanding the mechanism not only of insulin signaling but also of many signal transduction systems in biology. Dr. Uezu is specialist of voice production research. Textbook in this field often explains vocal fold vibration (sound source) and vocal tract filter are independent. In contrast, he experimentally showed that nonlinear interaction between them is crucial for generating various singing voice, for example falsetto and scream. The seminar attracted a wide range of audience including biologist, physicist, and mathematician, and we enjoyed active discussion.