Review of Recent Advances in Biological Physics: Exploring the Fascinating Interplay of Physics and Biology
Abstract
Recent years have seen impressive advancements in the interdisciplinary subject of biological physics, which uses fundamental physical concepts to analyse biological systems. An overview of the intricate connections between physics and biology is given in this review. The fusion of these disciplines has provided new insights into a variety of biological processes, from molecular dynamics within cells to ecological dynamics at the ecosystem level. The advancements in molecular simulations, cellular mechanics, biophysical modelling, ecological interactions are highlighted in the essay. It highlights the joint efforts forming our
understanding of life’s intricacies through the prism of physics by highlighting recent achievements. This assessment emphasises the value of interdisciplinary cooperation in revealing life’s mysteries while also recognising the difficulties and moral dilemmas still to be solved.
References
Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K., & Walter, P. (2017). Molecular Biology of the Cell (6th ed.). Garland Science.
Higgs, P. G. (2016). Biological Physics: Energy, Information, Life. Princeton University Press.
Phillips, R., Kondev, J., Theriot, J., & Garcia, H. (2012). Physical Biology of the Cell (2nd ed.). Garland Science.
Nelson, P., & Piran, T. (Eds.). (2013). Out of the Darkness: The Planet Pluto. Oxford University Press.
Howard, J. (2001). Mechanics of Motor Proteins and the Cytoskeleton. Sinauer Associates.
Peskin, C. S., & Oster, G. F. (1995). Coordinated Hydrolysis Explains the Mechanical Behavior of Kinesin. Biophysical Journal, 68(4), 202S–202S.
Levinthal, C. (1969). How to Fold Graciously. In M. A. DeBrunner, E. Munoz, & P. N. Ragsdale (Eds.), Mossbauer Spectroscopy in Biological Systems: Proceedings of a meeting held at Allerton House, Monticello, Illinois (pp. 22–24). University of Illinois Press.
Voet, D., Voet, J. G., & Pratt, C. W. (2016). Fundamentals of Biochemistry: Life at the Molecular Level (5th ed.). Wiley.
Cramer, P., Bushnell, D. A., & Kornberg, R. D. (2001). Structural Basis of Transcription: RNA Polymerase
II at 2.8 Angstrom Resolution. Science, 292(5523), 1863–1876.
Cross, M. C., & Hohenberg, P. C. (1993). Pattern Formation Outside of Equilibrium. Reviews of Modern Physics, 65(3), 851–1112.
Newman, M. E. J. (2003). The Structure and Function of Complex Networks. SIAM Review, 45(2), 167 256.
Trewavas, A. (2003). Aspects of Plant Intelligence. Annals of Botany, 92(1), 1–20.
Levin, S. A. (1992). The Problem of Pattern and Scale in Ecology. Ecology, 73(6), 1943–1967.
Volterra, V. (1931). Leçons sur la Théorie Mathématique de la Lutte pour la Vie. Gauthier-Villars.
Goldbeter, A., & Koshland, D. E. (1984). An Amplified Sensitivity Arising from Covalent Modification in
Biological Systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
(14), 4732–4736.
Durrett, R., & Levin, S. A. (1994). The Importance of Being Discrete (and Spatial). Theoretical Population Biology, 46(3), 363–394.
Ingber, D. E. (2003). Mechanobiology and Diseases of Mechanotransduction. Annals of Medicine, 35(8), 564–577.