Biophysics


    Divisions of Biology: Biophysics

    Biophysics – Just as the name suggests, Biophysics is a combination of Biology and Physics. We are all aware that Biology is a branch of science that deals with the study of diverse forms of life. The subject focuses on analyzing the patterns in life and the role of cells, molecules and organs within a living body.

    On the other hand, Physics is all about calculations and tracking down the law of nature. Interestingly, Biophysics is a bridge between two crucial branches of science studies. Calling it multidisciplinary science wouldn’t be quite incorrect. Study of Biophysics is all about learning ways to put calculative methods and theories of physics into use for appropriate analyzation of biological systems.

    Karl Pearson was the first to discover Biophysics in the year 1892. Ground-works related to the study of interaction between cells and molecules and other activities like protein biosynthesis and functions of RNA and DNA are all covered under the subject of Biophysics. Therefore, Biophysics is not just about Biology and Physics. Instead, subjects like Nanotechnology, Computational Biology, Biochemistry, Bio-engineering and Systems Biology are all a major part of this special branch of science.

    How has Biophysics contributed to the world of life science?

    If we happen to hurt ourselves bad, the first thing that pops up in our mind is the idea of getting an X-ray done, isn’t it? Well, did you know that X-ray or any form of Fluorescent Imaging Techniques is all a contribution of Biophysics? The list does not end here. Advanced procedures like Electron Microscopy, NMR Spectroscopy, X-Ray Crystallography and Atomic Force Microscopy are rewarding end results of Biophysics.

    Using these techniques is the best way to examine internal structure of living organisms. For example, if you are looking to detect some kind of a confrontational change in the physical structure of a living being, processes like Sax, dual polarization interferometry and circular dichroisim are the best techniques for use. It was the skilled Biophysicists who first introduced the concept of colored protein tags.

    This is highly beneficial to study about the chemical interaction of cells. For every tagged chemical, the cells display a different color, thereby making it easier to detect the different pathways of body cells.

    If you are interested to study all nitty-gritty’s about life at all levels including organisms, molecules, cells and environment, Biophysics is undoubtedly the perfect pick for you.

    Aquaporin-1: Destroying the Diffusion Dogma

    This site discusses a recent study that refutes the traditional simple diffusion theory of small molecule movement across cellular membranes.

    BioMolecular Networks Initiative: Virtual Cell

    Biological processes are inherently hierarchical. Events at the molecular level initiate actions that result in complex biological outcomes at the cellular, tissue, organ, and organism levels. The Virtual Cell program of the Biomolecular Network Initiative (BNI) will encompass components from the molecular level to the macroscopic organ level.

    Biophysics

    Site about biophysics there will be a lot of pages there soon.

    Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry Home Page

    Department of Biophysics & Biophysical chemistry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

    Biophysics homepage

    Welcome to the Biophysics homepage of the University of Alberta. Our program at the University of Alberta has been active since about 1991, led by Dr. Jack Tuszynski. The focus of the research has been modelling varied physical processes. Currently, research focuses on models of motor protein function as well as modelling microtubule assembly and function.

    Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology

    The Program in Biophysics and Computational Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is designed to provide students with sufficient training in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics to enable them to apply the conceptual and instrumental approach of the physical sciences to the solution ofbiological problems. Areas of study range from photobiology, molecular biology, electrophysiology, and bioenergetics to structure and dynamics of biological macromolecules.

    Centre for Molecular Modeling – NIH

    The Centre for Molecular Modeling CMM) is a major supplier of molecular modeling resources and expertise to the NIH research community. We help organize molecular modeling users at the NIH by sponsoring the inter-institute Molecular Modeling Interest Group (MMIG). We have used the NIH network to create a distributed molecular modeling environment (MMIGNET) that is accessible from UNIX workstations and personal computers maintained by individual investigators throughout the NIH’s Institutes.

    Department of Biophysics

    Department of Biophysics and Mathematical Methods in Biology, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine.

    Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Oxford.

    The research objectives of the Laboratory aim to provide a description of the structures of complex biological macromolecules and macromolecular assemblies and to use this information for an interpretation of biological function. The major research techniques used are protein crystallography and molecular dynamics simulations.