The Physics of Proteins: An Introduction to Biological Physics and Molecular Biophysics (Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering)

Physics and the life sciences have established new connections within the past few decades, resulting in biological physics as an established subfield with strong groups working in many physics departments. These interactions between physics and biology form a two-way street with physics providing new tools and concepts for understanding life, while biological systems can yield new insights into the physics of complex systems. To address the challenges of this interdisciplinary area, __The Physics of Proteins: An Introduction to Biological Physics and Molecular Biophysics__ is divided into three interconnected sections. In Parts I and II, early chapters introduce the terminology and describe the main biological systems that physicists will encounter. Similarities between biomolecules, glasses, and solids are stressed with an emphasis on the fundamental concepts of living systems. The central section (Parts III and IV) delves into the dynamics of complex systems. A main theme is the realization that biological systems, in particular proteins, do not exist in unique conformations but can assume a very large number of slightly different structures. This complexity is captured in the concept of a free energy landscape and leads to the conclusion that fluctuations are crucial for the functioning of biological systems. The final chapter of this section challenges the reader to apply these concepts to a problem that appears in the current literature. An extensive series of appendices (Part V) provide descriptions of the key physical tools and analytical methods that have proven powerful in the study of the physics of proteins. The appendices are designed to be consulted throughout the section on protein dynamics without breaking the deductive flow of the logic in the central section of the book. Annotation Physics and the life sciences have established new connections within the past few decades, resulting in biological physics as an established subfield with strong groups working in many physics departments. These interactions between physics and biology form a two-way street with physics providing new tools and concepts for understanding life, while biological systems can yield new insights into the physics of complex systems. To address the challenges of this interdisciplinary area, The Physics of Proteins: An Introduction to Biological Physics and Molecular Biophysics is divided into three interconnected sections. In Parts I and II, early chapters introduce the terminology and describe the main biological systems that physicists will encounter. Similarities between biomolecules, glasses, and solids are stressed with an emphasis on the fundamental concepts of living systems. The central section (Parts III and IV) delves into the dynamics of complex systems. A main theme is the realization that biological systems, in particular proteins, do not exist in unique conformations but can assume a very large number of slightly different structures. This complexity is captured in the concept of a free energy landscape and leads to the conclusion that fluctuations are crucial for the functioning of biological systems. The final chapter of this section challenges the reader to apply these concepts to a problem that appears in the current literature. An extensive series of appendices (Part V) provide descriptions of the key physical tools and analytical methods that have proven powerful in the study of the physics of proteins. The appendices are designed to be consulted throughout the section on protein dynamics without breaking the deductive flow of the logic in the central section of the book Front Matter....Pages i-xv Front Matter....Pages 1-2 The Hierarchy of Living Things....Pages 5-7 Information and Function....Pages 9-11 Biomolecules, Spin Glasses, Glasses, and Solids (R. H. Austin 1 )....Pages 13-17 Proteins....Pages 19-35 Nucleic Acids....Pages 37-46 The Genetic Code....Pages 49-52 Lipids and Membranes....Pages 53-58 Front Matter....Pages 61-62 The Secondary Structure....Pages 65-73 Tertiary Structure of Proteins....Pages 75-81 Myoglobin and Hemoglobin....Pages 83-91 Front Matter....Pages 93-94 Conformational Substates....Pages 97-112 The Organization of the Energy Landscape....Pages 113-124 Reaction Theory....Pages 125-155 Supercooled Liquids and Glasses....Pages 157-169 Front Matter....Pages 171-172 Protein Dynamics....Pages 175-196 Protein Quantum Dynamics? (R. H. Austin 1 )....Pages 199-208 Creative Homework: Dynamics and Function....Pages 209-236 Front Matter....Pages 237-240 Chemical Forces....Pages 243-256 Acids and Bases for Physicists....Pages 257-261 Thermodynamics for Physicists....Pages 263-277 Front Matter....Pages 237-240 Quantum Chemistry for Physicists....Pages 279-306 Energy Levels from Nuclei to Proteins....Pages 309-313 Interaction of Radiation with Molecules....Pages 315-320 Water (R. H. Austin 1 )....Pages 323-339 Scattering of Photons: X-Ray Diffraction....Pages 341-361 Electronic Excitations....Pages 363-376 Vibrations....Pages 377-391 The Nucleus as a Probe (C. E. Schulz 1 )....Pages 393-414 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Molecular Structure Dynamics (R. H. Austin 1 )....Pages 417-435 Neutron Diffraction....Pages 437-440 Back Matter....Pages 443-448 Provides an introduction to the structure and function of biomolecules --- especially proteins --- and the physical tools used to investigate them The discussion concentrates on physical tools and properties, emphasizing techniques that are contributing to new developments and avoiding those that are already well established and whose results have already been exploited fully New tools appear regularly - synchrotron radiation, proton radiology, holography, optical tweezers, and muon radiography, for example, have all been used to open new areas of understanding With growing connections between physics and the life sciences, this text introduces the terminology and the biological systems physicists encounter. It sets out the dynamics of complex systems, and provides a problem-solving challenge from the literature.