Los Algoritmos de la Vida

Why does the mathematics that predicts traffic on a telecommunications network also help us understand how an epidemic spreads? Why is a strain that is 70% more contagious worse than one that is 70% more lethal? How can our immune system recognize ten million different patterns? Why do we have more genes in common with viruses than with other primates? What makes a bacterium capable of "eating rocks" while we can only feed on other living beings? What do viruses and an exponential function have in common? Ma Teresa Herrero, an expert engineer in complex systems, uses mathematical rigor to unravel the hidden patterns behind epidemics: the exponential functions that turn an isolated case into a global crisis, the statistical models that predict the behavior of entire populations, and the equations that reveal why a viral mutation can change the course of history. With the precision of someone who analyzed data from the coronavirus pandemic and the clarity of a great communicator, she reveals how mathematics and biology come together to explain everything from viral mutations to contagion networks. Because on an overpopulated and interconnected planet, only by understanding the numbers can we be prepared for the next pandemic. Right now, as you read these lines, your immune system is fighting at least eight different viruses without you even realizing it. An army of specialized cells patrols your body, distinguishing between the million friendly bacteria you need to live and the invaders that could harm you. It is the most sophisticated battle in the universe, and it is being fought in the realm of the invisible.