A historical overview of modern computational biology

Series co-authors: Domen Jemec, Jason Chin, and Bianca Lauro

This is a somewhat chronological series of medium-depth essays on the history of studying biology through a computational lens. Biology has had quantitative roots for centuries, but we focus on the run-up to computing in biology and the application of computers to biological problems. Expect that, as we get closer to the present, the essays will go deeper.

We'll release one essay at a time as we develop the series. Please reach out if you spot anything we should correct or add.

1850 1900 1950 ... (more to come)

Era 0 · Quantitative foundations

Part 1 1830–1918
Heredity observed from variation
Mendel, Galton, Pearson, Fisher
Part 2 Coming next 1910–1960
Computing mechanism before anyone could see it
Michaelis, Hodgkin, Huxley, Turing, Kendrew