Principles of Molecular Biophysics

3 credits · Undergraduate

We will describe how concepts of free energy and entropy help us understand cooperative folding, conformational switching, and phase separation of proteins and explain the dynamics of biological molecules in a viscous and crowded cellular environment. We will then develop analytical approaches to a wide range of collective biophysical phenomena, including bacterial chemotaxis, swimming of sperm, stepping of molecular motors, neuronal firing, vision, photosynthesis, biological networks, pattern formation, and evolution. The course will also introduce advanced biophysical methods, such as single-molecule imaging and manipulation, and electrophysiology.