Table Of Content

Biology in Physics Is Life Matter? Biology in Physics Is Life Matter? Series in Polymers, Interfaces, and Biomaterials Series Editor Toyoichi Tanaka Department of Physics Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA Editorial Board: Sam Safran Weitzman Institute of Science Department of Materials and Interfaces Rehovot, Israel Masao Doi Applied Physics Department Faculty of Engineering Nagoya University Nagoya, Japan Alexander Grosberg Department of Physics Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA Other books in the series: Alexander Grosberg, Theoretical and Mathematical Models in Polymer Research: Modern Methods in Polymer Research and Technology (1998). Kaoru Tsujii, Chemistry and Physics of Surfactants. Principles, Phenomena, and Applications (1998). Teruo Okano, Editor, Biorelated Polymers and Gels: Controlled Release and Applications in Biomedical Engineering(1998). Also Available: Alexander Grosberg and Alexei R. Khokhlov, Giant Molecules: Here, There, and Everywhere (1997). Jacob Israelachvili, Intermoleculer and Surface Forces, Second Edition (1992). Biology in Physics Is Life Matter? Konstantin Bogdanov Institute of Developmental Biology Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow, Russia ACADEMIC PRESS A Harcourt Science and Technology Company San Diego San Francisco New York Boston London Sydney Tokyo This book is printed on acid-free paper. (~ Copyright �9 2000 by Academic Press All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to the following address: Permissions Department, Harcourt Brace & Company, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida, 32887-6777. ACADEMIC PRESS A Harcourt Science and Technology Company 525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495, USA http://www.apnet.com Academic Press 24-28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DX, UK htt p ://www. h buk.co, uk/a p/ Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-65060 International Standard Book Number: 0-12-109840-0 Printed in the United States of America 9900010203EB98765432 1 To my parents This Page Intentionally Left Blank Contents Foreword xi Acknowledgments Introduction xvii XV O Electricity Inside Us 1 Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta 2 Cell Membrane: Lipid Bilayer and Ionic Channels 4 Resting Potential 7 Action Potential 11 Nerve Impulse Propagation 14 Nodes of Ranvier 18 A Menu for a Person Condemned to Death Living Electricity Around Us 21 Electrical Compass 25 Electricity in Plants 29 19 O Heart Pulse 33 Arteries, Blood, and Erythrocytes 34 Velocity of Pulse Wave 40 Reflection of Pulse Waves 42 Equilibrium of the Blood Vessel Wall: Aneurysm 45 Murray's Law 48 Blood Circulation in Giraffe and Space Medicine 50 vii viii O O O O CONTENTS How Blood Pressure and Blood Flow are Measured 53 Blood Color and the Law of the Conservation of Energy 61 Crocodile Tears and Other Liquids 63 Water in Us 65 Amazing Filter 68 Cryobiology and Biological Antifreezes 75 Inhale Deeper 81 Breathing and Soap Bubbles 83 It's Not So Simple 85 Exceptions to the Rule 88 Countercurrent: Cheap and Effective 90 Diving 91 High Frequency Ventilation and Einstein's Formula 98 The Physics of Cough 104 Hunt for Cells in an Electric Field Principles of Dielectrophoresis 110 Cell ID in an Alternating Electric Field Cell Separation Using Traveling-Wave Dielectrophoresis 116 Electroporation of Cell Membranes 109 113 119 How Nature Listens 121 Let's Recall the Basics of Acoustics The Ear in Brief 124 The Middle Ear 126 121 CONTENTS Cochlear Amplifier 129 Otoacoustic Emissions, or Ear Sounds What Is a Cochlear Implant? 137 Sound Localization 139 Echolocation 143 135 ix 0 Bone 151 Composite Structure of Bone 154 Compact versus Spongy Bone 155 Bone Strength 157 Osteoporosis 160 Wolff's Law and Bone Remodeling Karate Mechanics in Short 163 Leg Tendons~Living Springs 165 Optics of the Eye 169 Photoreceptors and Visual Pigments Tapetum~Living Mirror 175 Infrared Vision 178 Compound Eyes 181 How Ommatidia Help One Another Microvilli See Polarized Light 191 Animal Maps 195 0 Magnetic Sense 199 On a Wing and a Vector 200 Magnetites Inside Us 203 Basics of Magnetic Orientation 206 Paleomagnetism and Magnetotactic Bacteria 209 161 172 185