Physics 590K - Biological Physics

This course, intended for students with a background in hysical or life science, will cover the following physical principles that apply to bilogical molecules and cells: Bownian motion, low Reynolds-number environments, forces relevant to cells and molecules, chemical potentials and free energies, as well as the basics of polymer physics. These principles will be applied to enzymes as molecular machines, membranes, DNA, and RNA. Also covered will be systems biology, which takes a different approach and tries to integrate the biological knowledge and to understand how the molecules act together within the network of interaction that makes up life.

PreReq:PHYS 132or152or182