Biological Physics Student Edition

“Biological Physics is the most interesting and well-written textbook I have ever read.” – Peter M. Hoffman, in Life’s Ratchet

“Philip Nelson’s excellent text provides material for the types of course we should now be offering to all our students…. There are frequent comments about the way that modern ideas and techniques have emerged. As Nelson cleverly shows, many of the most important scientific breakthroughs have come about unexpectedly through just the type of interdisciplinary studies that this book promotes.” – Christopher Dobson, in Nature

“This creative and insightful textbook brings definition to the field and establishes a set of central themes, based on principles of statistical physics…. Always maintaining a solid physics perspective, [the book] explores biological macromolecules, their structures and self-assembly, biomotors and locomotion, neurons, and more. The book is… a fascinating tour that will bring the reader within reach of many current research topics… It will intrigue both the student and the professor.” – Stephen Hagen, in American Journal of Physics

“Dr. Nelson has done a splendid job conveying how principles of physics apply to biological systems.” – Donald Jacobs, California State University-Northridge

“Succeeds in explaining difficult concepts in words and then presents the mathematics in a clear way.” – Daniel Kim-Shapiro, Physics Department, Wake Forest University

“Discussion revolves around central ideas, which are developed clearly.” – William Parke, Physics Department, George Washington University

Philip Nelson is Professor of Physics and director of the Biophysics major at the University of Pennsylvania. He has received multiple teaching awards from the University of Pennsylvania and from the Biophysical Society, in part, for creating the course that formed the basis for this book.