The mathematics of chemotaxis

Abstract

This chapter provides a description of some of the mathematical approaches that have been developed to account for quantitative and qualitative aspects of chemotaxis. This last is an important biological property, consisting in motion of cells induced by chemical substances, which is known to occur in a large number of situations, both homeostatic and pathological. Particular attention will be paid to the limits on a cell's capability to measure external cues on the one hand, and to provide an overall description of aggregation models for the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum on the other.