Biofisika

Biofisika, also called biophysics, is an interdisciplinary science that applies the principles and tools of physics to study biological systems. It seeks to understand how physical forces, energy transduction, and information processing underpin life, from molecules to organisms. The field integrates physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology to develop quantitative models of biological function.

Researchers use a range of experimental and theoretical approaches, including spectroscopy, imaging, diffraction (X-ray, neutron, light), cryo-electron microscopy, atomic force and other force measurements, electrophysiology, calorimetry, and computational modeling such as molecular dynamics and statistical mechanics. The aim is to measure structures, dynamics, energetics, and transport processes in biological systems.

Major subfields include molecular biophysics (structure and dynamics of biomolecules), membrane biophysics (lipid bilayers, ion channels, transport), systems biophysics and quantitative biology (networks and signaling in cells), biomechanical and neuromechanics (tissue mechanics and neural signaling), and biophysics of imaging and instrumentation. Applications span medicine, pharmacology, biotechnology, materials science, and energy research.

The development of biofisika began in the 20th century with the adoption of physical methods in biology. Early contributions came from physicists and biologists alike, with advances such as structural determination of proteins, electrophysiological measurements, and thermodynamic analyses guiding understanding of living systems. Today biofisika remains a core interdisciplinary field connecting theory and experiment to illuminate life’s physical principles.