Discipline

Biophysics

Physical Sciences

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies the approaches and methods of physics to biological phenomena, spanning scales from individual molecules to organisms and populations. Its molecular branch overlaps with biochemistry and molecular biology in seeking the physical basis of biomolecular processes. The term was coined by Karl Pearson in 1892, though the field's roots trace through earlier researchers including Luigi Galvani and the mid nineteenth century Berlin school of physiologists.

Facts
Founded Year
1957 1
Central QuestionSourced to the subject's own account
How do the physical forces and structures at work inside a cell, folding a protein or driving a molecular motor, give rise to the reliable behavior of living systems built from inherently noisy molecular parts? 2
ScopeSourced to the subject's own account
Biophysics applies the theories and methods of physics to understand biological systems, from the folding of individual proteins to the mechanics of whole organisms. 2
SignificanceSourced to the subject's own account
Biophysical methods, above all X-ray crystallography, made possible the 1953 determination of the double helical structure of DNA, among the most consequential findings in the history of biology and a demonstration of what physics-derived technique can reveal about life. 2
Biophysics
Filter Results4 entries
Connections

Founded By

Source Hermann von Helmholtz (Wikipedia)

Has Scientist

Aaron Klug, Scientists
Source Aaron Klug (Wikipedia)
Source Alan Hodgkin (Wikipedia)
Source Alexander Rich (Wikipedia)
Source Andrew Huxley (Wikipedia)
Source Archibald Hill (Wikipedia)
Source Arieh Warshel (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Bernard Katz
Carl Woese, Scientists
Source Carl Woese (Wikipedia)
Source Erwin Neher (Wikipedia)
Source Georg Nagel (Wikipedia)
Source Georg von Békésy (Wikipedia)
Source Kurt Wüthrich (Wikipedia)
Source Max Delbrück (Wikipedia)
Source Peter Hegemann (Wikipedia)
Source Roderick MacKinnon (Wikipedia)
Source Wilma Olson (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. The Society's History (Biophysical Society)
Biophysical SocietyThe Society's History, First National Biophysics Conference section
Quote, The Society's History, First National Biophysics Conference section
the decision was made at that time to formally organize the Biophysical Society and elect a Temporary Council
View the Source
2. Biophysics (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • lead and History sections
    Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. The studies of Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) laid groundwork for the later field of biophysics.
  • In Category: Disciplines
  • Part Of: Physics, Lead section
    Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena.
  • In Group: Physics and Its Subfields, Lead
    is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena
View the Source
Hermann von Helmholtz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFounded By: Hermann von Helmholtz, Nerve physiology section
Quote, Founded By: Hermann von Helmholtz, Nerve physiology section
In 1849, while at Konigsberg, Helmholtz measured the speed at which the signal is carried along a nerve fibre.
View the Source
Wilma Olson (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Wilma Olson, Research
Quote, Has Scientist: Wilma Olson, Research
Olson's studies DNA as polymers, with atoms and chemical bonds.
View the Source
Georg von Békésy (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Georg von Békésy, Lead, discipline
Quote, Has Scientist: Georg von Békésy, Lead, discipline
was a Hungarian-American biophysicist
View the Source
Archibald Hill (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Archibald Hill, Lead, discipline
Quote, Has Scientist: Archibald Hill, Lead, discipline
one of the founders of the diverse disciplines of biophysics and operations research
View the Source
Andrew Huxley (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Andrew Huxley, Lead
Quote, Has Scientist: Andrew Huxley, Lead
an English physiologist and biophysicist
View the Source
Alan Hodgkin (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Alan Hodgkin, Lead
Quote, Has Scientist: Alan Hodgkin, Lead
was an English physiologist and biophysicist
View the Source
Peter Hegemann (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Peter Hegemann, Lead, discipline
Quote, Has Scientist: Peter Hegemann, Lead, discipline
is a German biophysicist
View the Source
Georg Nagel (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Georg Nagel, Lead, discipline
Quote, Has Scientist: Georg Nagel, Lead, discipline
is a German biophysicist and professor at the Department for Neurophysiology
View the Source
Erwin Neher (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Erwin Neher, Lead, discipline
Quote, Has Scientist: Erwin Neher, Lead, discipline
is a German biophysicist, specializing in the field of cell physiology
View the Source
Alexander Rich (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHas Scientist: Alexander Rich, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Scientist: Alexander Rich, Lead sentence
Alexander Rich (15 November 1924 - 27 April 2015) was an American biologist and biophysicist.
View the Source
Carl Woese (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHas Scientist: Carl Woese, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Scientist: Carl Woese, Lead sentence
Carl Richard Woese ( ; July 15, 1928, December 30, 2012) was an American microbiologist and biophysicist.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Bernard Katz
Has Scientist: Bernard Katz, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Scientist: Bernard Katz, Lead sentence
Sir Bernard Katz, FRS (; 26 March 1911-20 April 2003) was a German-born British physician and biophysicist, noted for his work on nerve physiology; specifically, for his work on synaptic transmission at the nerve-muscle junction.
View the Source
Aaron Klug (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHas Scientist: Aaron Klug, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Scientist: Aaron Klug, Lead sentence
Sir Aaron Klug (11 August 1926-20 November 2018) was a British biophysicist and chemist.
View the Source
Roderick MacKinnon (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Roderick MacKinnon, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Scientist: Roderick MacKinnon, Lead sentence
Roderick MacKinnon (born February 19, 1956) is an American biophysicist, neuroscientist, and businessman.
View the Source
Arieh Warshel (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Arieh Warshel, Lead sentence
Quote, Has Scientist: Arieh Warshel, Lead sentence
Arieh Warshel (; born November 20, 1940) is an Israeli-American biochemist and biophysicist.
View the Source
Max Delbrück (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Max Delbruck, Lead
Quote, Has Scientist: Max Delbruck, Lead
was a German-American biophysicist
View the Source
Kurt Wüthrich (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Kurt Wüthrich, Lead
Quote, Has Scientist: Kurt Wüthrich, Lead
is a Swiss chemist/biophysicist
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

Science Atlas

How We Know What We Know
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme