This book covers a wide scope of biological approaches to such biological phenomena as cell division, motility, collective cell behavior, multicellular structures, morphogenesis, and tumor development. Over the past two decades, biologists have generated large sets of experimental data and discovered a lot of facts that need explanation. This biological boom attracts physicists who believe they can help to develop a theoretical framework in biology and explain complete biological phenomena using basic principles. This is the first book to present recent advances in biophysical studies of the different aspects of cell life. This book presents recent advances in biophysical studies of living cells and gives the impression that a combination of quantitative live cell observations, detailed biochemical and biophysical data, and mathematical modeling are capable to answer many important biological questions and to achieve a more complete understanding of such complex phenomena.

The first systematic summary of biophysical mass spectrometrytechniques Recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS) have pushed the frontiersof analytical chemistry into the biophysical laboratory. As aresult, the biophysical community's acceptance of MS-based methods,used to study protein higher-order structure and dynamics, hasaccelerated the expansion of biophysical MS. Despite this growing trend, until now no single text has presentedthe full array of MS-based experimental techniques and strategiesfor biophysics. Mass Spectrometry in Biophysics expertly closesthis gap in the literature. Covering the theoretical background and technical aspects of eachmethod, this much-needed reference offers an unparalleled overviewof the current state of biophysical MS. Mass Spectrometry inBiophysics begins with a helpful discussion of general biophysicalconcepts and MS-related techniques. Subsequent chaptersaddress: * Modern spectrometric hardware * High-order structure and dynamics as probed by various MS-basedmethods * Techniques used to study structure and behavior of non-nativeprotein states that become populated under denaturingconditions * Kinetic aspects of protein folding and enzyme catalysis * MS-based methods used to extract quantitative information onprotein-ligand interactions * Relation of MS-based techniques to other experimental tools * Biomolecular properties in the gas phase Fully referenced and containing a helpful appendix on the physicsof electrospray mass spectrometry, Mass Spectrometry in Biophysicsalso offers a compelling look at the current challenges facingbiomolecular MS and the potential applications that will likelyshape its future.

This book surveys the last sixty years of research in the rapidly advancing field of DNA biophysics, addressing key questions and facilitating further research.

This comprehensive and extensively classroom-tested biophysics textbook is a complete introduction to the physical principles underlying biological processes and their applications to the life sciences and medicine. The foundations of natural processes are placed on a firm footing before showing how their consequences can be explored in a wide range of biosystems. The goal is to develop the readers’ intuition, understanding, and facility for creative analysis that are frequently required to grapple with problems involving complex living organisms. Topics cover all scales, encompassing the application of statics, fluid dynamics, acoustics, electromagnetism, light, radiation physics, thermodynamics, statistical physics, quantum biophysics, and theories of information, ordering, and evolutionary optimization to biological processes and bio-relevant technological implementations. Sound modeling principles are emphasized throughout, placing all the concepts within a rigorous framework. With numerous worked examples and exercises to test and enhance the reader’s understanding, this book can be used as a textbook for physics graduate students and as a supplementary text for a range of premedical, biomedical, and biophysics courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It will also be a useful reference for biologists, physicists, medical researchers, and medical device engineers who want to work from first principles.

Emerging Trends in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, and Systems Biology discusses the latest developments in all aspects of computational biology, bioinformatics, and systems biology and the application of data-analytics and algorithms, mathematical modeling, and simu- lation techniques. • Discusses the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling, and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological and behavioral systems, including applications in cancer research, computational intelligence and drug design, high-performance computing, and biology, as well as cloud and grid computing for the storage and access of big data sets. • Presents a systematic approach for storing, retrieving, organizing, and analyzing biological data using software tools with applications to general principles of DNA/RNA structure, bioinformatics and applications, genomes, protein structure, and modeling and classification, as well as microarray analysis. • Provides a systems biology perspective, including general guidelines and techniques for obtaining, integrating, and analyzing complex data sets from multiple experimental sources using computational tools and software. Topics covered include phenomics, genomics, epigenomics/epigenetics, metabolomics, cell cycle and checkpoint control, and systems biology and vaccination research. • Explains how to effectively harness the power of Big Data tools when data sets are so large and complex that it is difficult to process them using conventional database management systems or traditional data processing applications. - Discusses the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological and behavioral systems. - Presents a systematic approach for storing, retrieving, organizing and analyzing biological data using software tools with applications. - Provides a systems biology perspective including general guidelines and techniques for obtaining, integrating and analyzing complex data sets from multiple experimental sources using computational tools and software.

Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Chemistry: Applied Research and Interactions provides the background needed in biophysics and molecular chemistry and offers a great deal of advanced biophysical knowledge. It emphasizes the growing interrelatedness of molecular chemistry and biochemistry, and acquaints one with experimental methods of both disciplines. This book addresses some of the enormous advances in biochemistry, particularly in the areas of structural biology and bioinformatics, by providing a solid biochemical foundation that is rooted in chemistry. Topics include scientific integrity and ethics in the field; clinical translational research in cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease; emerging drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases; swine, avian, and human flu; the use of big data in artificial knowledge in the field; bioinformatic insights on molecular chemistry; and much more.

A physicist's guide to the phenomena of life Interactions between the fields of physics and biology reach back over a century, and some of the most significant developments in biology—from the discovery of DNA's structure to imaging of the human brain—have involved collaboration across this disciplinary boundary. For a new generation of physicists, the phenomena of life pose exciting challenges to physics itself, and biophysics has emerged as an important subfield of this discipline. Here, William Bialek provides the first graduate-level introduction to biophysics aimed at physics students. Bialek begins by exploring how photon counting in vision offers important lessons about the opportunities for quantitative, physics-style experiments on diverse biological phenomena. He draws from these lessons three general physical principles—the importance of noise, the need to understand the extraordinary performance of living systems without appealing to finely tuned parameters, and the critical role of the representation and flow of information in the business of life. Bialek then applies these principles to a broad range of phenomena, including the control of gene expression, perception and memory, protein folding, the mechanics of the inner ear, the dynamics of biochemical reactions, and pattern formation in developing embryos. Featuring numerous problems and exercises throughout, Biophysics emphasizes the unifying power of abstract physical principles to motivate new and novel experiments on biological systems. Covers a range of biological phenomena from the physicist's perspective Features 200 problems Draws on statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and related mathematical concepts Includes an annotated bibliography and detailed appendixes