Physical Biology of the Cell

Physical scientists use mathematics to explain what happens in nature. Life scientists want to understand how biological systems work. These systems include molecules, cells, organisms, and ecosystems that are very complex. To bridge the two different aspects of physics and biology, new ideas and methods are needed and that is where biophysics comes in. Biophysicists use the principles and methods of physics to understand biological systems. It is an interdisciplinary science, closely related to quantitative and systems biology.

We base this course (mentored study) on the textbook Physical Biology of the Cell published by Garland Science. We focus on the Part 2 and Part 3 to learn the physical principles behind biological phenomena and to try using physical and mathematical tools to solve biology problems. The study will be facilitated by journal clubs of up-to-date papers in biophysics.

The mentored study will last 2 months (8 weeks). The students will read 2 chapters in the textbook each week. The students will meet with instructors every Friday and have a 45-min discussion to exchange ideas and tackle problems that they meet during reading. From the second week, the group discussion will be followed by a journal club, where one student present a cutting-edge paper in biophysics.
Physical Biology of the Cell. Rob Phillips, Jane Kondev, Julie Theriot. Garland Science, 2013
REST
Chapter 5: Mechanical and Chemical Equilibrium in the Living Cell
Chapter 6: Entropy Rules!
Chapter 7: Two-State Systems: From Ion Channels to Cooperative Binding
Chapter 8: Random Walks and the Structure of Macromolecules
Chapter 9: Electrostatics for Salty Solutions
Chapter 10: Beam Theory: Architecture for Cells and Skeletons
Chapter 11: Biological Membranes: Life in Two Dimensions
Chapter 12: The Mathematics of Water
Chapter 13: A Statistical View of Biological Dynamics
Chapter 14: Life in Crowded and Disordered Environments
Chapter 15: Rate Equations and Dynamics in the Cell
Chapter 16: Dynamics of Molecular Motors
Chapter 17: Biological Electricity and the Hodgkin–Huxley Model
Chapter 18: Light and Life

Target group: Biologists interested in physical explanations of life.
Physicists interested in life sciences.

Prerequisites: Basic knowledge in cell biology, physics and mathematics.

Evaluation: Students will be required to write 'mini-reviews' and/or make presentations based on what they have learnt in the course. Additionally, they will also be asked to present as in a journal club two papers - one classic paper and one very recent, both related to one subtopic of their choice from the course.

Teaching format: Textbook reading, group discussion, journal clubs.

ECTS: 3 Year: 2023

Track segment(s):
Elective

Teacher(s):
Nikhil Mishra

Teaching assistant(s):
Suyash Naik

If you want to enroll to this course, please click: REGISTER