MPI Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden, Germany
July 5 to 10, 2004
The study of molecular evolution has two main objectives: (i) the
reconstruction of the biochemical history of life through the analysis of the
macromolecules of existing organisms; (ii) the understanding of the
determinants of the evolution at the molecular level. These goals can only be
accomplished by a highly interdisciplinary combination of experimental
techniques of molecular biology, bioinformatics, and mathematical modeling. The
increasing amount of data made available by genome sequencing projects are
demanding an increasing integration of these disciplines. In particular,
progresses in understanding the structural properties of biological entities at
different levels, such as molecules, networks, and populations, can greatly
contribute both to elucidate the mechanisms of evolution and to reconstruct its
course.We aim at bringing together people from different scientific communities
working in the following three main areas: theoretical and empirical studies of
population dynamics, computational and experimental studies of the stability
and properties of biological macromolecules, and statistical analysis of
sequences databases. The possible synergies between these experimental,
theoretical, computational, and statistical analysis approaches are anticipated
to improve our understanding of the processes and pathways of molecular
evolution, and should be pursued further. We hope that our workshop can help
stimulating this integration, by bringing these different disciplines together
and providing a framework for interaction.
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