Biological Physics Poincaré Seminar 2009

The book contains articles from leading experts in different areas of biological physics. Topics ranging from cell dynamics to the evolution of multicellularity to conscious versus non-conscious evidence accumulation are reviewed and discussed, both from a theoretical and an experimental perspective. Furthermore, current developments of practical applications like magnetic tweezers for the study of DNA replication and brain imaging are presented.

Foreword.- Jean-François Joanny and Jacques Prost; Constructing Tools for the Description of Cell Dynamics.- Jasper van der Gucht and Cécile Sykes; A Physical Model of Cellular Symmetry Breaking.- Jonathon Howard; Motor Proteins as Nanomachines: The Roles of Thermal Fluctuations in Generating Force and Motion.- David Lacoste and Kirone Mallick: Fluctuation Relations for Molecular Motors.- Maria Manosas, Timothée Lionnet, Élise Praly, Ding Fangyuan, Jean-Fran¸cois Allemand, David Bensimon and Vincent Croquette; Studies of DNA-Replication at the Single Molecule Level Using Magnetic Tweezers.- Raymond E. Goldstein; Evolution of Biological Complexity.- Stanislas Dehaene; Conscious and Nonconscious Processes: Distinct Forms of Evidence Accumulation?