Physics of the Cell

Course goals

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 

1) make quantitative statements about cellular processes

2) understand how discrete-state descriptions are connected to statistical mechanics

3) describe how forces affect molecules and their functions

4) classify different biological dynamics

5) know how chemo-mechanical coupling is fundamental for molecular and cellular dynamics

6) understand the concept of biophysical experimental setups

7) build computational models and solve them analytically or numerically

Content

The structure and function of all living cells are governed by fundamental laws of physics and chemistry. In this course, we will cover several key physical principles operating at the molecular and cellular scale and discuss how they contribute to the spatio-temporal organization of the cells and cellular structures. We will cover the following topics:

• Physical models in cell biology
• Entropy and the Boltzmann distribution
• Two-state systems and cooperative binding
• Random walks and the structure of macromolecules
• Mechanics of molecules and cellular structures
• Different modes of biological dynamics
• Polymerization dynamics
• Dynamics of molecular motors

Relation to research and professional field: Concepts and models from physics can help to understand the behaviour of molecules within cells. While most of the building blocks of living cells are well-known thanks to biochemical techniques, understanding how these molecules can establish long-range order and function far away from equilibrium often requires physical models. This course will enrich the student’s understanding of cell biology by teaching how the dynamics of cellular systems at different time and length scales emerges from.

Set up of the course: 
The content is taught in two lectures per week. Assignments are discussed in one tutorial per week.

Relation to other courses:
This course builds upon the first-year course Biological Physics and has similar aims. Where the first year focused on very general principles, this course covers several more detailed topics.
This course is part of the profile Biophysics & Modeling and prepares you for level 3 courses linked to this profile and research groups linked to the master programme’s MCLS and Experimental Physics.

Teaching format course (estimation): 
Lectures = 40%
Tutorials = 20%
Assignment  = 20%
Self-study = 20%

Grading (see course manual for details):

1. Assignments (30%)
2. Final Exam (70%)

For both the assignments and the exam a 5.0 is the minimal grade to pass, and the average of both parts should be a 5.5 to pass.