Physics and biology : from molecules to life

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Title:

Physics and biology : from molecules to life

Author:

Allemand, Jean-François.

ISBN:

9789814618922

9789814616478

Personal Author:

Allemand, Jean-François.

Physical Description:

xv, 182 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 26 cm

General Note:

Translation of French title: Physique et biologie : de la molécule au vivant, 2012. Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

Do you often lose your keys? You will find in this book the best strategy to find them, or at least the one deduced from statistical physics. What is the link with biology? Some proteins use the same strategy to find their target inside a living cell. This example illustrates one of the many links between physics and biology. These links result from an intense from an intense research activity in the past years at the interface between those two disciplines. This book describes some of the most recent progresses at this interface: from instrumental progresses used in biology to the mechanical description of a cell, to molecular motors, from brain activity mechanisms to auditory or sensory perception. Many fields are covered from the molecular scale to the organ level. A few biological notions are presented in the first chapter that may help to access the biological aspects of the others. In the end this book may interest people passionate in science, from the simple amateur to the advanced researcher level. -- from back cover.

Contents:

Preface -- Some biology basic principles -- Fluorescence microscopy for biological imaging -- Mechanical studies on single molecules: general considerations -- Molecular motors -- Cellular mechanics and motility -- Exploring neuronal activity with photons -- Physical principles of hearing -- Sensing through friction: the biomechanics of texture perception in rodents and primates -- Intermittent search strategies.

Subject Term:

Biophysics.

Biophysics. (OCoLC)fst00832656

Added Author:

Desbiolles, Pierre.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Book	QH505 .A4713 2015	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Do you often lose your keys? You will find in this book the best strategy to find them, or at least the one deduced from statistical physics. What is the link with biology? Some proteins use the same strategy to find their target inside a living cell. This example illustrates one of the many links between physics and biology. These links result from an intense research activity in the past years at the interface between those two disciplines. This book describes some of the most recent progresses at this interface: from instrumental progresses used in biology to the mechanical description of a cell, to molecular motors, from brain activity mechanisms to auditory or sensory perception. Many fields are covered from the molecular to the scale at the organ level. A few biological notions are exposed in the first chapter that may help to access the biological aspects of the others. In the end this book may interest people passionate in science, from the simple amateur to the advanced researcher level.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

This book, edited by French scientists Allemand (École Normale Supérieure) and Desbiolles (formerly, Pierre and Marie Curie Univ.), addresses the physical basis of biological processes and of selected methods for the study of biology. The introductory chapter describes biology at the cellular and molecular levels and serves as an effective basis for the more focused chapters that follow. Topics addressed include fluorescence microscopy and methods for the study of single molecules, biological machines such as molecular motors and systems for cell motility, and systems for interaction with the environment, such as hearing and texture perception. Each chapter, authored by a scientist working in the particular field, is clearly and engagingly written and accessible to both experts and non-experts. The illustrations effectively complement the text, with many borrowed from primary sources. Mathematical equations are employed in some of the nine chapters and serve to solidify the relationship between the physical and biological aspects of a particular natural process; however, the central points of the chapters can be appreciated without engaging the math. Overall, this is an accessible work for those wishing to understand the connections between biology and physics; it will be useful to professionals, students, and interested nonscientists. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; informed general readers. --Mark S Kainz, Ripon College