The British Biophysical Society

What is biophysics?

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary field which applies techniques from the physical sciences to understanding biological structure and function at the molecular level. In simpler terms we use a range of scientific techniques to try to understand what macromolecules like DNA, proteins, fats and sugars look like, and how they interact to form the biological systems around us. Plants, animals and even seemingly simple organisms like bacteria and archae consist of complex biological networks of chemical signals and molecular interactions, which enable them to do such things as move, respire or reproduce. Biophysics is a varied field which draws on biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, genetics, physiology and medicine, all with the aim to understand these systems using experiments or theoretical and computational modeling. It is also a young science and is still rapidly developing - bionanotechnology and biosensors are just some of the latest fields to emerge in the last few years.

To understand more about the sorts of techniques used or the molecules we study, read the following short articles that illustrating some aspect of a biophysical method or problem. None of them is a complete description of biophysics, but together they present 'snapshots' of our field.

Techniques

CD - Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy by Bonnie Ann Wallace
Electron Microscopy by Helen Saibil
EPR - Electron Paramagnetic Resonance by Chris Cooper
Light Microscopy by Michael Ferenczi
Neutron Scattering by Robert Gilbert
X-ray Crystallography by Anthony North

Topics

Biomolecular Hydrodynamics by Steve Harding
Biophysical Instrumentation and Methods by John Helliwell
Biophysics of Movement by Michael Ferenczi
Glycoproteins, glycolipids and proteoglycans By Elizabeth Hounsell
Molecular Selectivity by Tony Wilkinson
Protein-DNA Interactions by Geoff Kneale
Regulation of Gene Expression by Andrew Lane
Three Dimensional Structure of Proteins by Janet Thornton

Other Links

Read about the biophysical research that won our Young Investigators their BBS Medals.

Visit other biophysics and related societies.