Aspects Of Physical Biology

General principles. Kinetics. Statics. Dynamics.

The application to Biology of the methodologies developed in Physics is attracting an increasing interest from the scientific community. It has led to the emergence of a new interdisciplinary field, called Physical Biology, with the aim of reaching a better understanding of the biological mechanisms at molecular and cellular levels. Statistical Mechanics in particular plays an important role in the development of this new field. For this reason, the XXth session of the famous Sitges Conference on Statistical Physics was dedicated to "Physical Biology: from Molecular Interactions to Cellular Behavior". As is by now tradition, a number of lectures were subsequently selected, expanded and updated for publication as lecture notes, so as to provide both a state-of-the-art introduction and overview to a number of subjects of broader interest and to favor the interchange and cross-fertilization of ideas between biologists and physicists. The present volume focuses on three main subtopics (biological water, protein solutions as well as transport and replication), presenting for each of them the on-going debates on recent results. The role of water in biological processes, the mechanisms of protein folding, the phases and cooperative effects in biological solutions, the thermodynamic description of replication, transport and neural activity, all are subjects that are revised in this volume, based on new experiments and new theoretical interpretations.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Physical Biology of the Cell is a textbook for a first course in physical biology or biophysics for undergraduate or graduate students. It maps the huge and complex landscape of cell and molecular biology from the distinct perspective of physical biology. As a key organizing principle, the proximity of topics is based on the physical concepts that

This book covers the latest developments in the physical biology of proteins and peptides. Key insights into microscopic and macroscopic approaches to describe biologically relevant macromolecules and their interactions are provided. This book also covers a wide range of tools, including theoretical methods as statistical mechanics, normal mode analysis, kinetic theory and stochastic processes, and all-atom and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. New experimental techniques are also discussed, particularly related to amiloidogenic peptides and their mutations. This is an excellent book for molecular biologists, physicists, computational scientists, and chemists. It covers cutting-edge research in this exciting, interdisciplinary research field. This book also: Discusses the latest developments in the physical biology of proteins, peptides and enzymes covering theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches Broadens readers’ understanding on the r ole of intra- and inter-molecular interactions as a fundamental cornerstone of macroscopic biological properties of macromolecules Provides a wide and useful perspective on different aspects of the physics, biology, and chemistry of proteins and peptides suitable for interdisciplinary research.

Addresses significant problems in physical biology and adjacent disciplines. This volume provides a perspective on the methods and concepts at the heart of chemical and biological behavior, covering the topics of visualization; theory and computation for complexity; and macromolecular function, protein folding, and protein misfolding