This volume represents a collection of lectures delivered by outstanding specialists in the fields of biophysics and of related scientific disciplines th during the 7 International Summer School on Biophysics held in Rovinj, Croatia from 14 to 25 September 2000 under the title "Super molecular Structure and Function ". This scientific-educational event was organized by the Ruder Boskovic Institute ofZagreb, Croatia with substantial material and intellectual support of a number of national and international institutions including the Croatian Biophysical Society (CBS), the International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB), the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and the UNESCO Venice Office - Regional Office for Science and Technology for Europe (UVO-ROSTE). The seventh edition of the series of International Summer Schools on Biophysics, which was started in 198I, attracted more than 120 young researchers and post-graduate students coming from 27 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Twenty-five outstanding experts in pure and applied biophysics presented the most advanced knowledge ofthis very interdisciplinary area of science during their lectures and round tables. It was commonly acknowledge that the Summer School achieved great success and fully reached its objectives. The success of the Rovinj Summer School was also due to the constantly growing attention being paid by scientific communities to younger generations of scientists, thanks also to the major outcomes of the World Conference on Science "Science for the Twenty-first Century: A New Commitment" held by UNESCO and ICSU in Budapest, Hungary in June 1999.
