Talk:Biophysics

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An amateur, I'm wondering why there's no mention here of D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson. --Wetman 12:34, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Also Erwin Schrödinger and What is Life?. Much of the history could be better covered. WebDrake 18:44, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

--- The categories are too broad. Phlebas 20:16, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Why is there no mention of Medical Imaging (CT, MRI, PET) and their effect on biophysics in general? I am more than willing to write this section if everyone can agree on this including this point of interest. Furthermore, I consider Felix Bloch a biophysicist more than a physicist because of his work specifically in MRI and NMR. Cocoapunk 4:41, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

There is a separate article on Medical Imaging, which seems to need improvement, though it's not a barren as this one. DGG 04:34, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] reynolds number

will someone please explain the connection between Reynolds number and molecular scale? And between traditional biology and statistical ensemble experimentation in biology? To me, as a molecular biologist ,it would seem you mean cell biology and molecular biology, but the examples are very unclear.

where is the part on reynolds number in the article? cant find anything on that there now. I am also a bit baffled at the statement of ensembles. Benkeboy (talk) 15:02, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

It is probably not a very good idea to include cryptic sentences like those in a general page for a subject. The definition in the first section is clear, but there's a rather large jump to this. Are you trying to say that biophysics studies macromolecules at the scale that statistical mechanics is relevant? If you mean this, then say it, properly, at length, in a section.

Except for certain types of indexing, biophysics rarely deals with "individual molecules" in the literal sense.

but it does not mean that "individual molecules" can be studied as part of biophysics. Benkeboy (talk) 15:02, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
Work with individual molecules is very much a part of biophysics research. Single-molecule imaging and manipulation are among the most active topics in biophysics. --chodges (talk) 06:02, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Famous biophysicists

Also, what is the distinction between a famous biophysicist and a merely notable one?

DGG
should the section on famous biophysicists be omitted althogether? How would you measure the fame of a biophysicist? Benkeboy (talk) 15:02, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
I would support this, and rather stick to the topics and methods, many of which have their own articles where the relevant people are mentioned. -- Mietchen (talk) 12:34, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Introductory phrase

I think the current phrase

Biophysics (also biological physics) is an interdisciplinary science that applies the theories and methods of the physical sciences to questions of biology.

is too rough a description, as it suggests one-way traffic, whereas the development of theories and methods (and thus the enrichment of the methodological arsenal) to investigate biological phenomena is an important part of the story.

My suggestion was

Biophysics (also biological physics) is an interdisciplinary science in which theories and methods of the physical sciences are used to 
investigate biological systems at all levels of organisation, or being developed to this end.

which is indeed less digestible, as argued by Chodges who reverted it. To keep things simple, I would agree on dropping the levels of organisation (but still think they should appear somewhere else in the article).

So what about

Biophysics (also biological physics) is an interdisciplinary science that employs and develops theories and methods of the physical sciences for
the investigation of biological systems.

? -- Mietchen (talk) 12:34, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

Just so I understand, your complaint is that you say the prior introductory sentence implies that biophysics doesn't develop its own theories and methods? Are you equally worried with Physical chemistry, whose introductory sentence is currently:
"Physical chemistry is the application of physics to macroscopic, microscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems [...]"
I think this change is mostly silly and results in a less digestible first sentence. I still like the original better. --chodges (talk) 05:28, 18 February 2008 (UTC)
I am not talking about the sentence implying that biophysics "doesn't develop its own theories and methods". What I would like to emphasize, though, is that the application of existing physics to biological problems often leads to further development of the "parenting" physical concepts and methods. This feedback aspect can easily get lost in wordings like "applies", even though the more general phrasing in Physical chemistry somewhat mediates the effect. For ease of digestion, we could perhaps drop the "interdisciplinary science", as this is probably true for most fields of research anyway. So what about "Biophysics (also biological physics) employs and develops theories and methods of the physical sciences for the investigation of biological systems"? -- Mietchen (talk) 12:58, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Given examples are biased?

In one of the introductory paragraphs, the following sentence appears:

"Studies included under the umbrella of biophysics span all levels of biological organisation and range from molecular modeling and sequence analysis to neural networks to systems ecology."

From my perspective, these are all computational or theoretical topics. I am inclined to either remove this list, or repopulate it with some experimental methods as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.32.182.6 (talk) 18:22, 20 February 2008 (UTC)