Excerpt taken from
The Biophysical Society:
Biophysics is the study of how living things work using ideas and tools from physics, chemistry, math, and computer science.
Biophysicists study living systems at a very small scale, including molecules such as:
- Proteins
- DNA and RNA
- Fats and sugars
- Cell membranes
Their goal is to understand how these molecules are shaped, how they move, how they interact, and how they help living things function.
What do biophysicists study?
Biophysicists look at the tiny building blocks of life.
These building blocks can be very small, such as sugars and fatty acids, or very large, such as DNA. Even though they are tiny, these molecules come together to form larger structures, including:
- Cells
- Tissues
- Organs
- Whole organisms
For example:
- Proteins help form structures in milk that become cheese.
- Proteins and RNA form ribosomes, which help build new proteins.
- Fats and proteins form cell membranes, which protect cells and control what enters and leaves them.
- Proteins and DNA form chromosomes, which carry genetic information.
How do biophysicists do their work?
Many biophysicists study the structure and movement of biological molecules.
They may also create new tools and instruments to see how these molecules work in real time.
Biophysicists use methods such as:
- Chemical and biochemical analysis
- Microscopy
- Spectroscopy
- Mathematical modeling
- Computer simulations
These tools help scientists understand how molecules work together inside living systems.
Why is biophysics important?
Biophysics helps explain how life works at the molecular level.
It is also important for medicine. Many biophysicists study molecules involved in disease. At the University of Michigan, biophysics research includes diseases such as:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease
- HIV
- Diabetes
- Breast cancer
- Multiple sclerosis
Although biophysics often focuses on basic science, its discoveries can help researchers better understand disease and develop new treatments.
What kinds of questions do biophysicists ask?
Biophysicists study many different questions, such as:
- How do proteins fold into specific three-dimensional shapes?
- How does DNA copy itself during cell division?
- How does RNA fold into complex shapes and carry out important jobs?
- How do our senses detect sound, light, smells, tastes, and touch?
- How do muscles turn chemical energy into movement?
- How do cell membranes control what enters and leaves a cell?
In simple terms
Biophysics explains how living things work by studying the molecules inside them.
It looks at how tiny biological parts act like small machines. These “nanomachines” work together to make life possible.
