Physics of life

PHYS-468 / 4 credits

Teacher: Stahlberg Henning Paul-Julius

Language: English

Summary

Life has emerged on our planet from physical principles such as molecular self-organization, thermodynamics, stochastics and iterative refinement. This course will introduce the physical methods to study life and will discuss the quantitative and physical concepts that make life possible.

Content

  • The structural organization of life
  • Digitalization, Fourier transforms, error propagation, measurement methods
  • Energy forms in life: Membrane potential, ATP, concentration gradients, protein folding
  • Protein purification: Chromatography, Electrophoresis, Lab Overview
  • Hydrodynamic methods, viscosity, cell sorting
  • Surface effects, Osmosis, Calorimetry, ITC
  • Spectroscopy with light
  • Radiation Biophysics, Spectroscopy with NMR and SPR
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Electron Microscopy in life sciences
  • AFM
  • Interactions between particle beams and living matter (Light, X-rays, OCT), Free Electron Laser

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

  • Describe the molecules and structural arrangement of modern biological cells.
  • Describe and quantitatively understand the physical mechanisms that drive living organisms.
  • Explain the biophysical tools used to study the molecules of life and interpret their data.

Teaching methods

  • 2 hours of class + 2 hour of exercises
  • Students are invited to give one 10-min presentation on one of several possible topics during the semester.

Expected student activities

Homework will be given every week. Solutions will be handed out. Homework will not be graded. It is strongly advised to make the effort to do the homework weekly.

Assessment methods

  • The course grading is composed of a final written exam
  • Students should give a 10-min presentation on one of a given list of topics. Failure to give the presentation will lower the final grade by 0.5.

Resources

Ressources en bibliothèque

Moodle Link

In the programs

  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: Written (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Physics of life
  • Courses: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: Written (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Physics of life
  • Courses: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: Written (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Physics of life
  • Courses: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: Written (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Physics of life
  • Courses: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: Written (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Physics of life
  • Courses: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: Written (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Physics of life
  • Courses: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: Written (summer session)
  • Subject examined: Physics of life
  • Courses: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Type: optional

Reference week

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