The Physics of Living Systems
Mechanistic Insights into the Functioning of Cells
Published on 30. March 2026
Book
Hardback
177 pages
978-1-0364-6908-5 (ISBN)
Description
Cells are smart. They have to be because the penalty for failure is death. The clever solutions cells use have been honed by countless generations of cells doing trial and error, exploring possibilities and finding solutions that work. There are fundamental reasons why cells function as they do. They are constrained by the Laws of Physics and the solutions that work are those in harmony with those laws. Cells and multi-cellular organisms often push the limits of these constraints in order to survive and compete, risking death. All this takes place at the molecular level where thermal energy causes everything to move very rapidly. What could be a cacophony of discordant activity becomes a symphony without a conductor to keep all the players organized. Understanding how and why cells do what they do is beautiful and awe-inspiring. This book will help achieve that goal.
Reviews / Votes
'[This book] stands out for both its style and substance. It is written in a manner that invites the reader to follow the narrative by covering the basics and quickly advancing to state-of-the-art questions in the field. [...] For beginners, young students of molecular biology, the book will be an essential introduction to the laws of physics that govern living organisms' function; for established researchers, it will offer an invaluable opportunity to revisit their understanding at the most "elementary" - and, therefore, often most challenging - level.'Sergey M. Bezrukov, PhD,Head, Section on Molecular Transport, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA'a journey through the wonders of energetic fluctuations that are essential for living systems [...] ought to trigger many curious minds - scientists or not - to look at Life differently.'Prof Dr.Martin Zizi, MD-PhD, PhD,Molecular Biophysicist, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, BelgiumMore details
Edition
Unabridged edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Newcastle upon Tyne
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Unabridged edition
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 148 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0364-6908-5 (9781036469085)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Prof Marco Colombini is Emeritus in Biology at the University of Maryland, USA. His doctorate is from McGill University, Canada. His research is in Membrane Biophysics with an emphasis on mitochondrial channel-formers. He has published 124 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 24 book chapters. His publications have been cited over 17,500 times with an H-index of 69. He was elected to the governing Council of the Biophysical Society and chaired the Bioenergetics Subgroup. He served as Director of the Biology Graduate Program and as Associate Chair of the Biology Department. He was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He co-discovered the mitochondrial voltage dependent anion-selective channel, VDAC, a controller of mitochondrial energy production and involved in apoptosis. He also co-discovered the ceramide channel, the only channel-former exclusively formed by lipids and critical to the initiation of apoptosis. He taught extensively in the areas of Cell Biology, Physiology and Biophysics and trained numerous doctoral and master's graduates.