The Physical Basis of Biochemistry The Foundations of Molecular Biop
The Physical Basis of Biochemistry is an introduction to the philosophy and practice of an interdisciplinary field in which biological systems are explored using the quantitative perspective of the physical scientist. As with the first edition, the idea t
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Peter R. Bergethon
The Physical Basis of Biochemistry The Foundations of Molecular Biophysics Second Edition
Chapters 27 and 28 written with Kristin E. Bergethon
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Peter R. Bergethon Departments of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Biochemistry Boston University School of Medicine 715 Albany Street Boston, Massachusetts 02118-2526 USA [email protected]
ISBN 978-1-4419-6323-9 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-6324-6 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-6324-6 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2010929616 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface to the Second Edition
In its first edition, the Physical Basis of Biochemistry endeavored to connect the foundation principles of biology to the essential processes in physics and chemistry. The core purpose of the new edition remains that described in the first edition: • The Physical Basis of Biochemistry is an introduction to the philosophy and practice of an interdisciplinary field in which biological systems are explored using the quantitative perspective of the physical scientist. I have three primary objectives in this volume: one, to provide a unifying picture of the interdisciplinary threads from which the tapestry of biophysical studies are woven; two, to provide an insight into the power of the modeling approach to scientific investigation; and three, to communicate a sense of excitement for the activity and wholesome argument that characterizes this field of study. • The students in this course are likely to be a cross section of quantitatively oriented biologists as well as aspiring chemists, physicists, and engineers with an interest in biological systems. This leads to a mixing of interests and disciplines brought to both the classroom and the laboratory. A fundamental assumption of a physical approach to biology and especially to biophysical chemistry is that we can gain understanding of a biological phenomenon by describing and understanding its physical nature. Thus the tools of the physical scientist become available to the biologist in the exploration of the complexities of biological systems. In the preface to the first edition of The Physical Basis of Biochemistry I wrote In recent years, the skills of the biophy
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