Physics and engineering departments are building research programs in Biological Physics, but until now there
has not been a synthesis of this dynamic field at the undergraduate level. Biological Physics focuses on new results
in molecular motors, self-assembly, and single-molecule manipulation that have revolutionized the field in recent
years, and integrates these topics with classical results. The text also provides foundational material for the
emerging field of nanotechnology. The text is built around a self-contained core geared toward undergraduate students
who have had one year of calculus-based physics. Additional "Track-2" sections contain more advanced
material for senior physics majors and graduate students.
Table of Contents
I: MYSTERIES, METAPHORS, MODELS
1. What the ancients knew
Sets the stage by outlining Schrodinger's "What is Life?" Reviews some background from elementary
physics and chemistry.
2. What's inside cells
Pictorial tour of the molecules and structures to be studied in later chapters.
II: DIFFUSION, DISSIPATION, DRIVE
3. The molecular dance
Introduces basic kinetic theory. Discusses Delbruck's analysis of X-ray mutagenesis experiments and his deduction
that
hereditary information is carried by a long-chain molecule.
4. Random walks, friction, and diffusion
Includes biological applications such as membrane permeation and the Nernst relation.
5. Life in the slow lane: The low Reynolds-number world
Includes biological applications such as bacterial propulsion and vascular networks.
6. Entropy, temperature, and free energy
Introduces these central concepts.
Includes: "RNA folding as a two-state system" by J. Liphardt, I. Tinoco, Jr., and C. Bustamante
7. Entropic forces at work
Discusses osmotic pressure, electrostatics in solution, and the hydrophobic effect.
8. Chemical forces and self-assembly
Includes biological applications such as dissociation of macromolecules, electrophoresis, and self-assembly
of micelles and
bilayers.
III: MOLECULES, MACHINES, MECHANISMS
9. Cooperative transitions in macromolecules
Discusses DNA stretching experiments, the helix-coil transition, and allosteric transitions.
10. Enzymes and molecular machines
Sets up the problem of random walks on energy landscapes, then gives biological applications including enzyme
kinetics and
the analysis of single-molecule experiments on molecular motors.
11. Machines in membranes
Discusses ion pumps, resting membrane potentials, and the chemiosmotic mechanism; then discusses recent single-molecule
experiments on the ATP synthase motor.
Includes: "Powering up the flagellar motor" by H. C. Berg and D. Fung
12. Nerve impulses
Introduces the Hodgkin-Huxley mechanism, then analyzes recent patch-clamp experiments on single ion channels.
Global list of symbols and units
Numerical values
Index
