Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology

Biology promises to be the leading science in this century. As in all other sciences, progress in biology depends on interactions between empirical research, theory building, and modeling. But whereas the techniques and methods of descriptive and experimental biology have dramatically evolved in recent years, generating a flood of highly detailed empirical data, the integration of these results into useful theoretical frameworks has lagged behind. Driven largely by pragmatic and technical considerations, research in biology continues to be less guided by theory than it is in other fundamental sciences. By promoting the discussion and formulation of new theoretical concepts in the biosciences, this series intends to help fill conceptual gaps in our understanding of some of the major open questions of biology, such as the origin and organization of organismal form, the relationship between development and evolution, or the biological bases of cognition and mind.

The series, whose name reflects the location of its initiating meetings and commemorates the seminal work of the aforementioned scientists, grew out of the yearly "Altenberg Workshops in Theoretical Biology" held near Vienna, at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI), a private, non-profit institution closely associated with the University of Vienna. KLI fosters research projects, seminars, workshops, and symposia on all aspects of theoretical biology, with an emphasis on the developmental, evolutionary, and cognitive sciences. The workshops, each organized by leading experts in their fields, concentrate on new conceptual advances originating in these disciplines, and are meant to facilitate the formulation of integrative, cross-disciplinary models. Volumes on emerging topics of crucial theoretical importance not directly related to any of the workshops will also be included in the series.