PHYS280 - PHYS MODELS BIO SYSTEMS: Physical Models of Biological Systems

Classic case studies of successful reductionistic models of complex phenomena, emphasizing the key steps of making estimates, using them to figure out which physical variables and phenomena will be most relevant to a given system, finding analogies to purely physical systems whose behavior is already known, and embodying those in a mathematical model, which is often implemented in computer code. Topics may include bacterial genetics, genetic switches and oscillators; systems that sense or utilize light; superresolution and other newmicroscopy methods; and vision and other modes of sensory transduction.