Howard C. Berg - Böcker

A landmark account of the dynamics of living systems and the methods for studying themRandom Walks in Biology provides a lucid, straightforward introduction to the concepts and techniques of statistical physics that students of biology, biochemistry, and biophysics must know. Howard Berg offers an essential foundation for understanding random motions of molecules, subcellular particles, and cells as well as the processes that are affected by such motions. Using the concept of “random walks” of individual particles, Berg illuminates the physics involved in diffusion, sedimentation, electrophoresis, chromatography, and cell motility. With an engaging foreword by theoretical biophysicist William Bialek, this Princeton Science Library edition can serve as a supplementary text for courses on biochemistry, molecular biology, biomechanics, physiology, biophysics, and physical chemistry. It is also an ideal reference volume.

Escherichia coli, commonly referred to as E. coli, has been the organism of choice for molecular genetics for decades. Its machinery and mobile behavior is one of the most fascinating topics for cell scientists. Scientists and engineers, not trained in microbiology, and who would like to learn more about living machines, can see it as a unique example. This cross-disciplinary monograph covers more than thirty years of research and is accessible to graduate students and scientists alike.

This book is a lucid, straightforward introduction to the concepts and techniques of statistical physics that students of biology, biochemistry, and biophysics must know. It provides a sound basis for understanding random motions of molecules, subcellular particles, or cells, or of processes that depend on such motion or are markedly affected by it. Readers do not need to understand thermodynamics in order to acquire a knowledge of the physics involved in diffusion, sedimentation, electrophoresis, chromatography, and cell motility--subjects that become lively and immediate when the author discusses them in terms of random walks of individual particles.