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Overview
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to
History study biological phenomena.[1][2][3] Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to
Focus as a subfield organismic and populations. Biophysical research shares significant overlap with biochemistry, molecular biology,
physical chemistry, physiology, nanotechnology, bioengineering, computational biology, biomechanics,
See also
developmental biology and systems biology.
References
The term biophysics was originally introduced by Karl Pearson in 1892.[4][5] The term biophysics is also regularly
Sources
used in academia to indicate the study of the physical quantities (e.g. electric current, temperature, stress,
External links entropy) in biological systems. Other biological sciences also perform research on the biophysical properties of
Kinesin uses protein domain
living organisms including molecular biology, cell biology, chemical biology, and biochemistry. dynamics on nanoscales to "walk"
along a microtubule.

Overview [ edit ]
Part of a series on
Molecular biophysics typically addresses biological questions similar to those in biochemistry and
molecular biology, seeking to find the physical underpinnings of biomolecular phenomena. Scientists in this Physics
field conduct research concerned with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a
cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis, as well as how these
interactions are regulated. A great variety of techniques are used to answer these questions.

Fluorescent imaging techniques, as well as electron microscopy, x-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy,
atomic force microscopy (AFM) and small-angle scattering (SAS) both with X-rays and neutrons
The fundamental science
(SAXS/SANS) are often used to visualize structures of biological significance. Protein dynamics can be
observed by neutron spin echo spectroscopy. Conformational change in structure can be measured using Index · Outline · Glossary
techniques such as dual polarisation interferometry, circular dichroism, SAXS and SANS. Direct History (timeline)

manipulation of molecules using optical tweezers or AFM, can also be used to monitor biological events Branches [show]

where forces and distances are at the nanoscale. Molecular biophysicists often consider complex biological Research [show]
events as systems of interacting entities which can be understood e.g. through statistical mechanics, Physics portal · Category
thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. By drawing knowledge and experimental techniques from a wide · ·
variety of disciplines, biophysicists are often able to directly observe, model or even manipulate the
structures and interactions of individual molecules or complexes of molecules.

In addition to traditional (i.e. molecular and cellular) biophysical topics like structural biology or enzyme
kinetics, modern biophysics encompasses an extraordinarily broad range of research, from bioelectronics to
quantum biology involving both experimental and theoretical tools. It is becoming increasingly common for
biophysicists to apply the models and experimental techniques derived from physics, as well as
mathematics and statistics, to larger systems such as tissues, organs,[6] populations[7] and ecosystems.
Biophysical models are used extensively in the study of electrical conduction in single neurons, as well as
neural circuit analysis in both tissue and whole brain.

Medical physics, a branch of biophysics, is any application of physics to medicine or healthcare, ranging
from radiology to microscopy and nanomedicine. For example, physicist Richard Feynman theorized about
the future of nanomedicine. He wrote about the idea of a medical use for biological machines (see
A ribosome is a biological machine that
nanomachines). Feynman and Albert Hibbs suggested that certain repair machines might one day be
utilizes protein dynamics
reduced in size to the point that it would be possible to (as Feynman put it) "swallow the doctor". The idea
was discussed in Feynman's 1959 essay There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom.[8]

History [ edit ]

The studies of Luigi Galvani (1737–1798) laid groundwork for the later field of biophysics. Some of the earlier studies in biophysics were conducted in the
1840s by a group known as the Berlin school of physiologists. Among its members were pioneers such as Hermann von Helmholtz, Ernst Heinrich
Weber, Carl F. W. Ludwig, and Johannes Peter Müller.[9]

William T. Bovie (1882–1958) is credited as a leader of the field's further development in the mid-20th century. He was a leader in developing
electrosurgery.

The popularity of the field rose when the book What Is Life? by Erwin Schrödinger was published. Since 1957, biophysicists have organized themselves
into the Biophysical Society which now has about 9,000 members over the world.[10]

Some authors such as Robert Rosen criticize biophysics on the ground that the biophysical method does not take into account the specificity of biological
phenomena.[11]

Focus as a subfield [ edit ]

While some colleges and universities have dedicated departments of biophysics, usually at the graduate level, many do not have university-level
biophysics departments, instead having groups in related departments such as biochemistry, cell biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering,
mathematics, medicine, molecular biology, neuroscience, pharmacology, physics, and physiology. Depending on the strengths of a department at a
university differing emphasis will be given to fields of biophysics. What follows is a list of examples of how each department applies its efforts toward the
study of biophysics. This list is hardly all inclusive. Nor does each subject of study belong exclusively to any particular department. Each academic
institution makes its own rules and there is much overlap between departments.[citation needed]

Biology and molecular biology – Gene regulation, single protein dynamics, bioenergetics, patch clamping, biomechanics, virophysics.
Structural biology – Ångstrom-resolution structures of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and complexes thereof.
Biochemistry and chemistry – biomolecular structure, siRNA, nucleic acid structure, structure-activity relationships.
Computer science – Neural networks, biomolecular and drug databases.
Computational chemistry – molecular dynamics simulation, molecular docking, quantum chemistry
Bioinformatics – sequence alignment, structural alignment, protein structure prediction
Mathematics – graph/network theory, population modeling, dynamical systems, phylogenetics.
Medicine – biophysical research that emphasizes medicine. Medical biophysics is a field closely related to physiology. It explains various aspects and
systems of the body from a physical and mathematical perspective. Examples are fluid dynamics of blood flow, gas physics of respiration, radiation in
diagnostics/treatment and much more. Biophysics is taught as a preclinical subject in many medical schools, mainly in Europe.
Neuroscience – studying neural networks experimentally (brain slicing) as well as theoretically (computer models), membrane permittivity.
Pharmacology and physiology – channelomics, electrophysiology, biomolecular interactions, cellular membranes, polyketides.
Physics – negentropy, stochastic processes, and the development of new physical techniques and instrumentation as well as their application.
Quantum biology – The field of quantum biology applies quantum mechanics to biological objects and problems. Decohered isomers to yield time-
dependent base substitutions. These studies imply applications in quantum computing.
Agronomy and agriculture

Many biophysical techniques are unique to this field. Research efforts in biophysics are often initiated by scientists who were biologists, chemists or
physicists by training.

See also [ edit ]

Biophysical Society
Physics portal
Index of biophysics articles
Biology portal
List of publications in biology – Biophysics
List of publications in physics – Biophysics
List of biophysicists
Outline of biophysics
Biophysical chemistry
European Biophysical Societies' Association
Mathematical and theoretical biology
Medical biophysics
Membrane biophysics
Molecular biophysics
Neurophysics
Physiomics
Virophysics
Single-particle trajectory

References [ edit ]

1. ^ "Biophysics | science" . Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-07-26. 7. ^ Popkin, Gabriel (2016-01-07). "The physics of life" . Nature News. 529
2. ^ Zhou HX (March 2011). "Q&A: What is biophysics?" . BMC Biology. 9: (7584): 16–18. Bibcode:2016Natur.529...16P . doi:10.1038/529016a .
13. doi:10.1186/1741-7007-9-13 . PMC 3055214 . PMID 21371342 . PMID 26738578 .
3. ^ "the definition of biophysics" . www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 8. ^ Feynman RP (December 1959). "There's Plenty of Room at the
2018-07-26. Bottom" . Archived from the original on 2010-02-11. Retrieved
4. ^ Pearson, Karl (1892). The Grammar of Science . p. 470. 2017-01-01.
5. ^ Roland Glaser. Biophysics: An Introduction . Springer; 23 April 2012. 9. ^ Franceschetti DR (15 May 2012). Applied Science . Salem Press Inc.
ISBN 978-3-642-25212-9. p. 234. ISBN 978-1-58765-781-8.
6. ^ Sahai, Erik; Trepat, Xavier (July 2018). "Mesoscale physical principles of 10. ^ Rosen J, Gothard LQ (2009). Encyclopedia of Physical Science .
collective cell organization". Nature Physics. 14 (7): 671–682. Infobase Publishing. p. 4 9. ISBN 978-0-8160-7011-4.
Bibcode:2018NatPh..14..671T . doi:10.1038/s41567-018-0194-9 . 11. ^ Longo G, Montévil M (2012-01-01). "The Inert vs. the Living State of
hdl:2445/180672 . ISSN 1745-2481 . S2CID 125739111 . Matter: Extended Criticality, Time Geometry, Anti-Entropy - An Overview" .
Frontiers in Physiology. 3: 39. doi:10.3389/fphys.2012.00039 .
PMC 3286818 . PMID 22375127 .

Sources [ edit ]
Perutz MF (1962). Proteins and Nucleic Acids: Structure and Function. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ASIN B000TS8P4G .
Library resources about
Perutz MF (May 1969). "The Croonian Lecture, 1968. The haemoglobin molecule". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biophysics
Series B, Biological Sciences. 173 (1031): 113–40. Bibcode:1969RSPSB.173..113P . doi:10.1098/rspb.1969.0043 .
Resources in your library
PMID 4389425 . S2CID 22104752 . Resources in other libraries
Dogonadze RR, Urushadze ZD (1971). "Semi-Classical Method of Calculation of Rates of Chemical Reactions Proceeding in Polar
Liquids". J Electroanal Chem. 32 (2): 235–245. doi:10.1016/S0022-0728(71)80189-4 .
Volkenshtein MV, Dogonadze R, Madumarov AK, Urushadze ZD, Kharkats YI (1972). "Theory of Enzyme Catalysis". Molekuliarnaia Biologiia. Moscow. 6 (3): 431–439.
PMID 4645409 . "In Russian, English summary. Available translations in Italian, Spanish, English, French"
Rodney M. J. Cotterill (2002). Biophysics : An Introduction . Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-48538-4.
Sneppen K, Zocchi G (2005-10-17). Physics in Molecular Biology (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-84419-2.
Glaser R (2004-11-23). Biophysics: An Introduction (Corrected ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-67088-9.
Hobbie RK, Roth BJ (2006). Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology (4th ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-30942-2.
Cooper WG (August 2009). "Evidence for transcriptase quantum processing implies entanglement and decoherence of superposition proton states". Bio Systems. 97
(2): 73–89. doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2009.04.010 . PMID 19427355 .
Cooper WG (December 2009). "Necessity of quantum coherence to account for the spectrum of time-dependent mutations exhibited by bacteriophage T4".
Biochemical Genetics. 47 (11–12): 892–910. doi:10.1007/s10528-009-9293-8 . PMID 19882244 . S2CID 19325354 .
Goldfarb D (2010). Biophysics Demystified. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-163365-9.

External links [ edit ]

Biophysical Society At Wikiversity, you can learn

Journal of Physiology: 2012 virtual issue Biophysics and Beyond more and teach others about
Biophysics at the
bio-physics-wiki Department of Biophysics
Link archive of learning resources for students: biophysika.de (60% English, 40% German)
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Biophysics.

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This page was last edited on 10 January 2024, at 02:45 (UTC).

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