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physicsworld.comVolume22 No7 July 2009
How physics ischanging biology 
 
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Quanta3Frontiers4
Laboratory “black hole” traps sound
●
 Axions back in vogue
●
 A mechanism for life
●
Dating with ancient pottery
●
Sensing biological threats
News & Analysis7
China unveils new telescope
●
ITER suffers setback
●
Reactor leak affects isotopeproduction
●
Sweden chooses nuclear-waste dump
●
Park name sparks protests
●
Neutrino facility gets a facelift
●
Germany boosts education and research
●
Women’s career routes mapped
●
Scientists call for asteroid-tracking system
●
Mario Paniccia: pushing silicon photonics beyond the lab
●
Video game employslaws of physics
Comment15
In praise of Darwin
Forum16
How physics can inspire biology
 Alexei Kornyshev
Critical Point18
The call of the wild
 Robert P Crease
Feedback19
The Schön case, perspectives on the “two cultures”, German for physicists,plus comment from
 physicsworld.com
How physics is changing biology
 The quantum life24
The idea that quantum effects played a key role in biology has always beencontroversial. New experimental results are now bringing that perspective backto life, as
 Paul Davies
explains
Do cells care about physics?31
The cell has traditionally been the territory of geneticists and biochemists. But itturns out that physics is just as important, according to
 Jochen Guck
Postcards from the brain37
Understanding the processes that form our thoughts is one of the most fundamentalquestions in science.
Sam Wang
describes the physical principles that underlie thearchitecture of the brain
Darwin’s legacy42
Charles Darwin was no physicist, but, argues
 Leonard Susskind
, his work set thestandard for what an explanation of life and the universe should be like
Reviews46
Can physics explain biology?
●
Beyond relativity
●
Web life:
 Foldit
Careers52
Tools for learning
George Herold
●
Once a physicist: Bruce McWilliams
Recruitment55Lateral Thoughts60
On the origin of the Darwin unit
 Kevin McGuigan
Darwin’s domain – quantum effects inbiology; physics of the cell; brain architecture;new standards for cosmology22–45
Physics World
is published monthly as 12 issues per annualvolume by IOP Publishing Ltd, Dirac House, Temple Back,Bristol BS1 6BE, UK 
United States Postal Identification Statement
Physics World
(ISSN 0953-8585) is published monthly byIOP Publishing Ltd, Dirac House, Temple Back, Bristol BS1 6BE,UK. Annual subscription price is US $555. Air freight and mailing in the USA by Publications Expediting, Inc., 200 Meacham Ave,Elmont NY 11003. Periodicals postage at Jamaica NY 11431.US Postmaster: send address changes to
Physics World
,American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1,2 Huntington Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502
On the cover 
How physics is changing biology(
Science Photo Library/Photolibrary 
)22–45
   B   i   l   l   S   a   n   d   e   r   s   o   n   /   S   c   i   e   n   c   e    P   h   o   t   o    L   i   b   r   a   r  y
physicsworld.com
Contents:
 July 2009
1
Physics World
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