Physics and Chemistry

To understand how life works, it is essential to understand physics and chemistry. Physics informs and enlightens biology in myriad dimensions, yet many biology courses proceed with little or no consideration of physical properties or principles. The intersection between physics and biology is explored in this review of online media. To understand how life works, it is essential to understand physics and chemistry. Most biologists have a clear notion of where chemistry fits into their life sciences research and teaching. Although we are physical beings, physics does not always find a place in the biology curriculum. Physics informs and enlightens biology in myriad dimensions (Figure 1), yet many biology courses proceed with little or no consideration of physical properties or principles. Phil Nelson, a biophysics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, asserts, “Physical models are often weirdly, unreasonably effective in stripping away the inessential from a biological system—and in displaying connections between things that seemed not obviously connected to our untrained imagination.” In this review of online media in the realm of biological physics, I will meander up and down the scale of nature to explore the intersection between physics and biology. Let us begin with the macro scale and the most interesting subject of all, ourselves.