Cellular and Molecular Aspects of Integrative Biophysics

Abstract

The past several decades the scientific literature has grown so rapidly that it is almost a full-time job to keep abreast of the major developments relating to cellular organization and behavior. As a consequence of this enormous profusion of information we have witnessed an explosive growth in our understanding of the properties and functions of living cells. In particular, this has led to more emphasis on the interplay of DNA, RNA and proteins as, what has often been called the central molecules of life. Thus, recombinant DNA technology has profoundly transformed biochemistry of the cell. The genome is now an open book. Cloning and sequencing of millions of bases of DNA have greatly increased our insight in how the genome is organized and its expression is controlled. The reading of the genome has also provided a wealth of amino acid sequence information that has resulted in knowledge on how proteins fold, catalyze reactions, transport ions, and transduce signals. It is interesting to see that as information accumulates, disconnected facts give way to rational explanations, and simplicity emerges from chaos. However, gradually the essential large areas of ignorance in cell biology and the many facts that cannot be explained come into focus. It is evident that molecular biology by itself is not enough to understand the “time” and “space” aspects of the internal working of cells. The temporal and the spatial organization of a cell or an organism are essentially determined by its dynamic structure which in turn is based on metabolic organization.