Introduction to Experimental Biophysics by
Increasing numbers of physicists, chemists, and mathematicians are moving into biology, reading literature across disciplines, and mastering novel biochemical concepts. To succeed in this transition, researchers must understand on a practical level what is experimentally feasible. The number of experimental techniques in biology is vast and often specific to particular subject areas; nonetheless, there are a few basic methods that provide a conceptual underpinning for broad application. Introduction to Experimental Biophysics is the ideal benchtop companion for physical scientists interested in getting their hands wet. Assuming familiarity with basic physics and the scientific method but no previous background in biology or chemistry, this book provides: A thorough description of modern experimental and analytical techniques used in biological and biophysical research Practical information and step-by-step guidance on instrumentation and experimental design Recipes for common solutions and media, lists of important reagents, and a glossary of biological terms used Developed for graduate students in biomedical engineering, physics, chemical engineering, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science, Introduction to Experimental Biophysics is an essential resource for scientists to overcoming conceptual and technical barriers to working in a biology wet lab.
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Biophysics by
Biophysics is the science of physical principles underlying all processes of life, including the dynamics and kinetics of biological systems. This fully revised 2nd English edition is an introductory text that spans all steps of biological organization, from the molecular, to the organism level, as well as influences of environmental factors. In response to the enormous progress recently made, especially in theoretical and molecular biophysics, the author has updated the text, integrating new results and developments concerning protein folding and dynamics, molecular aspects of membrane assembly and transport, noise-enhanced processes, and photo-biophysics. The advances made in theoretical biology in the last decade call for a fully new conception of the corresponding sections. Thus, the book provides the background needed for fundamental training in biophysics and, in addition, offers a great deal of advanced biophysical knowledge.
Biophysics by
Interactions between the fields of physics and biology reach back over a century, and some of the most significant developments in biology--from the discovery of DNA's structure to imaging of the human brain--have involved collaboration across this disciplinary boundary. For a new generation of physicists, the phenomena of life pose exciting challenges to physics itself, and biophysics has emerged as an important subfield of this discipline. Here, William Bialek provides the first graduate-level introduction to biophysics aimed at physics students. Bialek begins by exploring how photon counting in vision offers important lessons about the opportunities for quantitative, physics-style experiments on diverse biological phenomena. He draws from these lessons three general physical principles--the importance of noise, the need to understand the extraordinary performance of living systems without appealing to finely tuned parameters, and the critical role of the representation and flow of information in the business of life. Bialek then applies these principles to a broad range of phenomena, including the control of gene expression, perception and memory, protein folding, the mechanics of the inner ear, the dynamics of biochemical reactions, and pattern formation in developing embryos. Featuring numerous problems and exercises throughout, Biophysics emphasizes the unifying power of abstract physical principles to motivate new and novel experiments on biological systems. Covers a range of biological phenomena from the physicist's perspective Features 200 problems Draws on statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and related mathematical concepts Includes an annotated bibliography and detailed appendixes Instructor's manual (available only to teachers)
The Rainbow and the Worm by 
Biophysics for Beginners by
Biophysics is a new way of looking at living matter. It uses quantitative experimental and theoretical methods to open a new window for studying and understanding life processes. This textbook gives compact introductions to the basics of the field, including molecular cell biology and statistical physics. It then presents in-depth discussions of more advanced biophysics subjects, progressing to state-of-the-art experiments and their theoretical interpretations. The book is unique by offering a general introduction to biophysics, yet at the same time restricting itself to processes that occur inside the cell nucleus and that involve biopolymers (DNA, RNA, and proteins). This allows for an accessible read for beginners and a springboard for specialists who wish to continue their study in more detail.
Physics of the Human Body by
Richard P. McCall's fascinating book explains how basic concepts of physics apply to the fundamental activities and responses of the human body, a veritable physics laboratory. Blood pumping through our veins is a vital example of Poiseuille flow; the act of running requires friction to propel the runner forward; and the quality of our eyesight demonstrates how properties of light enable us to correct near- and far-sightedness. Each chapter discusses a fundamental physics concept and relates it to the anatomy and physiology of applicable parts of the body. Topics include motion, fluids and pressure, temperature and heat, speech and hearing, electrical behaviors, optics, biological effects of radiation, and drug concentrations. Clear and compelling, with a limited amount of math, McCall's descriptions allow readers of all levels to appreciate the physics of the human physique. Physics of the Human Body will help curious high school students, undergraduates with medical aspirations, and practicing medical professionals understand more about the underlying physics principles of the human body.
Physics of the Human Body by 
Mechanics, Heat, and the Human Body by 
Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology by
Intended for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in biophysics, biological physics, physiology, medical physics, cell biology, and biomedical engineering who have had prior course in physics and in calculus, this text bridges the gap between introductory physics and its application to the life sciences.This third edition adds much new material, including: the circulatoy system, the logistic question, countercurrent transport, nonlinear systems, image formation, and sensory transducers.Among the many topics treated in this wide-ranging book are: forces in the skeletal system; fluid flow, with examples from the circulatory system; the logistic equation; scaling; transport of neutral particles by diffusion and by solvent drag; membranes and osmosis; equipartition of energy in statistical mechanics; the chemical potential and free energy; biological magnetic fieds; membranes and gated channels in membranes; nonlinear phenomena, including biological clocks and chaotic behavior; signal anaysis; detection of weak signals; radiological physics and the use of x-rays in diagnosis and therapy; magnetic resonance imaging.The text includes many problems to test the student's understanding, and chapters include useful bibliographies for further reading. Its minimal prerequisites and wide coverage make ideal for self-study, as well as a useful reference for workers in medical and biological research.A solutions manual is available. A volume in the AIP International Series in Basic and Applied Biological Physics.
Physics in Medicine and Biology by
In considering ways that physics has helped advance biology and medicine, what typically comes to mind are the various tools used by researchers and clinicians. We think of the optics put to work in microscopes, endoscopes, and lasers; the advanced diagnostics permitted through magnetic, x-ray, and ultrasound imaging; and even the nanotools, that allow us to tinker with molecules. We build these instruments in accordance with the closest thing to absolute truths we know, the laws of physics, but seldom do we apply those same constants of physics to the study of our own carbon-based beings, such as fluidics applied to the flow of blood, or the laws of motion and energy applied to working muscle. Instead of considering one aspect or the other, Handbook of Physics in Medicine and Biology explores the full gamut of physics' relationship to biology and medicine in more than 40 chapters, written by experts from the lab to the clinic. The book begins with a basic description of specific biological features and delves into the physics of explicit anatomical structures starting with the cell. Later chapters look at the body's senses, organs, and systems, continuing to explain biological functions in the language of physics. The text then details various analytical modalities such as imaging and diagnostic methods. A final section turns to future perspectives related to tissue engineering, including the biophysics of prostheses and regenerative medicine. The editor's approach throughout is to address the major healthcare challenges, including tissue engineering and reproductive medicine, as well as development of artificial organs and prosthetic devices. The contents are organized by organ type and biological function, which is given a clear description in terms of electric, mechanical, thermodynamic, and hydrodynamic properties. In addition to the physical descriptions, each chapter discusses principles of related clinical diagnostic methods and technological aspects of therapeutic applications. The final section on regenerative engineering, emphasizes biochemical and physiochemical factors that are important to improving or replacing biological functions. Chapters cover materials used for a broad range of applications associated with the replacement or repair of tissues or entire tissue structures.
Networks in Cell Biology by
The science of complex biological networks is transforming research in areas ranging from evolutionary biology to medicine. This is the first book on the subject, providing a comprehensive introduction to complex network science and its biological applications. With contributions from key leaders in both network theory and modern cell biology, this book discusses the network science that is increasingly foundational for systems biology and the quantitative understanding of living systems. It surveys studies in the quantitative structure and dynamics of genetic regulatory networks, molecular networks underlying cellular metabolism, and other fundamental biological processes. The book balances empirical studies and theory to give a unified overview of this interdisciplinary science. It is a key introductory text for graduate students and researchers in physics, biology and biochemistry, and presents ideas and techniques from fields outside the reader's own area of specialization.
Biomechanics of the Brain by
Biomechanics of the Brain will present an introduction to brain anatomy for engineers and scientists. Experimental techniques such as brain imaging and brain tissue mechanical property measurement will be discussed, as well as computational methods for neuroimage analysis and modeling of brain deformations due to impacts and neurosurgical interventions. Brain trauma between the different sexes will be analyzed.Applications will include prevention and diagnosis of traumatic injuries, such as shaken baby syndrome, neurosurgical simulation and neurosurgical guidance, as well as brain structural disease modeling for diagnosis and prognosis. This book will be the first book on brain biomechanics. It will provide a comprehensive source of information on this important field for students, researchers, and medical professionals in the fields of computer-aided neurosurgery, head injury, and basic biomechanics.
Circuits in the Brain by
Dr. Charles Legéndy's Circuits in the Brain: A Model of Shape Processing in the Primary Visual Cortex is published at a time marked by unprecedented advances in experimental brain research which are, however, not matched by similar advances in theoretical insight. For this reason, the timing is ideal for the appearance of Dr. Legéndy's book, which undertakes to derive certain global features of the brain directly from the neurons. Circuits in the Brain, with its "relational firing" model of shape processing, includes a step-by-step development of a set of multi-neuronal networks for transmitting visual relations, using a strategy believed to be equally applicable to many aspects of brain function other than vision. The book contains a number of testable predictions at the neuronal level, some believed to be accessible to the techniques which have recently become available. With its novel approach and concrete references to anatomy and physiology, the monograph promises to open up entirely new avenues of brain research, and will be particularly useful to graduate students, academics, and researchers studying neuroscience and neurobiology. In addition, since Dr. Legéndy's book succeeds in achieving a clean logical presentation without mathematics, and uses a bare minimum of technical terminology, it may also be enjoyed by non-scientists intrigued by the intellectual challenge of the elegant devices applied inside our brain. The book is uniquely self-contained; with more than 120 annotated illustrations it goes into full detail in describing all functional and theoretical concepts on which it builds.
Brain Dynamics by
This is an excellent introduction for graduate students and nonspecialists to the field of mathematical and computational neurosciences. The book approaches the subject via pulsed-coupled neural networks, which have at their core the lighthouse and integrate-and-fire models. These allow for highly flexible modeling of realistic synaptic activity, synchronization and spatio-temporal pattern formation. The more advanced pulse-averaged equations are discussed.
Spikes by
Our perception of the world is driven by input from the sensory nerves. This inputarrives encoded as sequences of identical spikes. Much of neural computation involves processingthese spike trains. What does it mean to say that a certain set of spikes is the right answer to acomputational problem? In what sense does a spike train convey information about the sensory world?Spikes begins by providing precise formulations of these and related questions about therepresentation of sensory signals in neural spike trains. The answers to these questions are thenpursued in experiments on sensory neurons.The authors invite the reader to play the role of ahypothetical observer inside the brain who makes decisions based on the incoming spike trains.Rather than asking how a neuron responds to a given stimulus, the authors ask how the brain couldmake inferences about an unknown stimulus from a given neural response. The flavor of some problemsfaced by the organism is captured by analyzing the way in which the observer can make a runningreconstruction of the sensory stimulus as it evolves in time. These ideas are illustrated byexamples from experiments on several biological systems.Intended for neurobiologists with aninterest in mathematical analysis of neural data as well as the growing number of physicists andmathematicians interested in information processing by "real" nervous systems, Spikes provides aself-contained review of relevant concepts in information theory and statistical decision theory. Aquantitative framework is used to pose precise questions about the structure of the neural code.These questions in turn influence both the design and analysis of experiments on sensoryneurons.
Neurons and Networks by
Harvard University Press is proud to announce the second edition of a widely admired introductory textbook. When first published, Neurons and Networks filled the need for an introductory neuroscience text that is lucid, accessible, authoritative, logically organized, and concise. Avoiding the encyclopedic coverage that makes most neuroscience texts overwhelming, Neurons and Networks focused instead on building the solid foundation of understanding and knowledge required for further study. The new edition retains the features that made the first edition so attractive: consistent emphasis on results and concepts that have stood the test of time; abundant high-quality illustrations; exceptionally clear explanations of technical terms. Completely revised and enlarged with six new chapters, the second edition of Neurons and Networks is an introduction not just to neurobiology, but to all of behavioral neuroscience. It is an ideal text for first- or second-year college students with minimal college science exposure. It is also an invaluable resource for students in biology, psychology, anthropology, and computer science who seek an accessible guide to a discipline that will be a critically important area of research in the twenty-first century.
Dynamical Systems in Neuroscience by
In order to model neuronal behavior or to interpret the results of modeling studies,neuroscientists must call upon methods of nonlinear dynamics. This book offers an introduction tononlinear dynamical systems theory for researchers and graduate students in neuroscience. It alsoprovides an overview of neuroscience for mathematicians who want to learn the basic facts ofelectrophysiology. Dynamical Systems in Neuroscience presentsa systematic study of the relationship of electrophysiology, nonlinear dynamics, and computationalproperties of neurons. It emphasizes that information processing in the brain depends not only onthe electrophysiological properties of neurons but also on their dynamical properties. The bookintroduces dynamical systems, starting with one- and two-dimensional Hodgkin-Huxley-type models andcontinuing to a description of bursting systems. Each chapter proceeds from the simple to thecomplex, and provides sample problems at the end. The book explains all necessary mathematicalconcepts using geometrical intuition; it includes many figures and few equations, making itespecially suitable for non-mathematicians. Each concept is presented in terms of both neuroscienceand mathematics, providing a link between the two disciplines. Nonlinear dynamicalsystems theory is at the core of computational neuroscience research, but it is not a standard partof the graduate neuroscience curriculum -- or taught by math or physics department in a way that issuitable for students of biology. This book offers neuroscience students and researchers acomprehensive account of concepts and methods increasingly used in computationalneuroscience. An additional chapter on synchronization, with more advancedmaterial, can be found at the author's website, www.izhikevich.com.
Principles of Computational Modelling in Neuroscience by
The nervous system is made up of a large number of interacting elements. To understand how such a complex system functions requires the construction and analysis of computational models at many different levels. This book provides a step-by-step account of how to model the neuron and neural circuitry to understand the nervous system at all levels, from ion channels to networks. Starting with a simple model of the neuron as an electrical circuit, gradually more details are added to include the effects of neuronal morphology, synapses, ion channels and intracellular signaling. The principle of abstraction is explained through chapters on simplifying models, and how simplified models can be used in networks. This theme is continued in a final chapter on modeling the development of the nervous system. Requiring an elementary background in neuroscience and some high school mathematics, this textbook is an ideal basis for a course on computational neuroscience.
Biomedical Signals and Systems by
Biomedical Signals and Systems is meant to accompany a one-semester undergraduate signals and systems course. It may also serve as a quick-start for graduate students or faculty interested in how signals and systems techniques can be applied to living systems. The biological nature of the examples allows for systems thinking to be applied to electrical, mechanical, fluid, chemical, thermal and even optical systems. Each chapter focuses on a topic from classic signals and systems theory: System block diagrams, mathematical models, transforms, stability, feedback, system response, control, time and frequency analysis and filters. Embedded within each chapter are examples from the biological world, ranging from medical devices to cell and molecular biology. While the focus of the book is on the theory of analog signals and systems, many chapters also introduce the corresponding topics in the digital realm. Although some derivations appear, the focus is on the concepts and how to apply them. Throughout the text, systems vocabulary is introduced which will allow the reader to read more advanced literature and communicate with scientist and engineers. Homework and Matlab simulation exercises are presented at the end of each chapter and challenge readers to not only perform calculations and simulations but also to recognize the real-world signals and systems around them.
Phonocardiography Signal Processing by
The auscultation method is an important diagnostic indicator for hemodynamic anomalies. Heart sound classification and analysis play an important role in the auscultative diagnosis. The term phonocardiography refers to the tracing technique of heart sounds and the recording of cardiac acoustics vibration by means of a microphone-transducer. Therefore, understanding the nature and source of this signal is important to give us a tendency for developing a competent tool for further analysis and processing, in order to enhance and optimize cardiac clinical diagnostic approach. This book gives the reader an inclusive view of the main aspects in phonocardiography signal processing.Table of Contents: Introduction to Phonocardiography Signal Processing / Phonocardiography Acoustics Measurement / PCG Signal Processing Framework / Phonocardiography Wavelets Analysis / Phonocardiography Spectral Analysis / PCG Pattern Classification / Special Application of Phonocardiography / Phonocardiography Acoustic Imaging and Mapping
Artificial Organs by
The replacement or augmentation of failing human organs with artificial devices and systems has been an important element in health care for several decades. Such devices as kidney dialysis to augment failing kidneys, artificial heart valves to replace failing human valves, cardiac pacemakers to reestablish normal cardiac rhythm, and heart assist devices to augment a weakened human heart have assisted millions of patients in the previous 50 years and offers lifesaving technology for tens of thousands of patients each year. Significant advances in these biomedical technologies have continually occurred during this period, saving numerous lives with cutting edge technologies. Each of these artificial organ systems will be described in detail in separate sections of this lecture.
Color Vision by
Color Vision: From Genes to Perception documents the present state of understanding regarding primate color vision in 20 review articles written by 35 leading international experts. The articles range from genes, the molecular genetics of the human cone photopigment genes, to perception, the color processing of complex scenes. Detailed overviews of such basic topics as cone spectral sensitivity and color processing in the retina and cortex are included. Introductions are given to important and innovative technologies such as molecular genetics, anatomical staining, visual psychophysics, intracellular and extracellular physiological recordings, and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Color Vision is intended for graduate students and research specialists. By bringing together scientists from different disciplines, the book will clarify issues of general interest for the expert and non-expert alike.
Understanding Vision by
While the field of vision science has grown significantly in the past two decades, there have been few comprehensive books that showed readers how to adopt a computional approach to understanding visual perception, along with the underlying mechanisms in the brain.Understanding Vision explains the computational principles and models of biological visual processing, and in particular, of primate vision. The book is written in such a way that vision scientists, unfamiliar with mathematical details, should be able to conceptually follow the theoreticalprinciples and their relationship with physiological, anatomical, and psychological observations, without going through the more mathematical pages. For those with a physical science background, especially those from machine vision, this book serves as an analytical introduction to biologicalvision. It can be used as a textbook or a reference book in a vision course, or a computational neuroscience course for graduate students or advanced undergraduate students. It is also suitable for self-learning by motivated readers. In addition, for those with a focused interest in just one of the topics in the book, it is feasible to read just the chapter on this topic without having read or fully comprehended the other chapters. In particular, Chapter 2 presents a brief overview of experimental observations on biologicalvision; Chapter 3 is on encoding of visual inputs, Chapter 5 is on visual attentional selection driven by sensory inputs, and Chapter 6 is on visual perception or decoding. Including many examples that clearly illustrate the application of computational principles to experimental observations, Understanding Vision is valuable for students and researchers in computational neuroscience, vision science, machine and computer vision, as well as physicists interested invisual processes.
The Visual Neurosciences by
Visual science is the model system for neuroscience, its findings relevant to all other areas. This massive collection of papers by leading researchers in the field will become an essential reference for researchers and students in visual neuroscience, and will be of importance to researchers and professionals in other disciplines, including molecular and cellular biology, cognitive science, ophthalmology, psychology, computer science, optometry, and education.Over 100 chapters cover the entire field of visual neuroscience, from its historical foundations to the latest research and findings in molecular mechanisms and network modeling. The book is organized by topic--different sections cover such subjects as the history of vision science; developmental processes; retinal mechanisms and processes; organization of visual pathways; subcortical processing; processing in the primary visual cortex; detection and sampling; brightness and color; form, shape,and object recognition; motion, depth, and spatial relationships; eye movements; attention and cognition; and theoretical and computational perspectives. The list of contributors includes leading international researchers in visual science.
Circuits in the Brain by
Dr. Charles Legéndy's Circuits in the Brain: A Model of Shape Processing in the Primary Visual Cortex is published at a time marked by unprecedented advances in experimental brain research which are, however, not matched by similar advances in theoretical insight. For this reason, the timing is ideal for the appearance of Dr. Legéndy's book, which undertakes to derive certain global features of the brain directly from the neurons. Circuits in the Brain, with its "relational firing" model of shape processing, includes a step-by-step development of a set of multi-neuronal networks for transmitting visual relations, using a strategy believed to be equally applicable to many aspects of brain function other than vision. The book contains a number of testable predictions at the neuronal level, some believed to be accessible to the techniques which have recently become available. With its novel approach and concrete references to anatomy and physiology, the monograph promises to open up entirely new avenues of brain research, and will be particularly useful to graduate students, academics, and researchers studying neuroscience and neurobiology. In addition, since Dr. Legéndy's book succeeds in achieving a clean logical presentation without mathematics, and uses a bare minimum of technical terminology, it may also be enjoyed by non-scientists intrigued by the intellectual challenge of the elegant devices applied inside our brain. The book is uniquely self-contained; with more than 120 annotated illustrations it goes into full detail in describing all functional and theoretical concepts on which it builds.
