What is Biophysics? What are the major areas of Biophysics?
Answer :
A career in Biophysics is one of the most fascinating as it is one of the most intellectually challenging fields of scientific study because it deals with humans. Biophysics has a great importance in all our lives today.
Biophysics shares a strong bond with other advanced biological fields biochemistry, bioengineering, systems biology, nanotechnology, and agro physics, it can be said that Biological systems is the very root of all our existence. Biophysics incorporates the study of all levels of biological organization, from molecules to ecosystems.
One who studies the field of biophysics is known as Biophysicist. They study life at every level, from atoms and molecules to cells, organisms and environments. Biophysicists attempt to explain why our biophysical environment behaves as it does. Biophysicists study how organisms develop, see, hear, think and live.
The major areas of biophysics are the following:
• Molecular biophysics -is the study of large molecules and particles of comparable size which play important roles in biology.
• Radiation biophysics- consists of the study of the response of organisms to ionizing radiations, such as alpha, beta, gamma and x-rays and to ultraviolet light.
• Physiological biophysics- called by some as Classical biophysics, is concerned with the use of physical mechanisms to explain the behavior and the functioning of living organisms or parts of living organisms and with the response of living organisms to physical forces.
• Mathematical and theoretical biophysics- deals primarily with the attempt to explain the behavior of living organisms on the basis of mathematics and physical theory.
• Medical biophysics – deals with the study that uses physics to describe or effect biological process largely for the purpose of medical application. The areas of research combining Physics and physiology include medical imaging such as MRI, computed tomography and PET (Positron emission tomography); oncology and cancer diagnosis using radiolabel ling and molecular imaging; and vasculature and circulatory system function.