Simple Beginning

Biophysicist Raghuvir Partasaraati explains how four physical principles—self-assembly, regulatory schemes, predictable randomness, and scaling—determine the structure and behavior of biological systems, from the folding of protein molecules and gene activity to the fate of bacteria in the gut community. These patterns underlie the entire diversity of living nature and allow for the development of previously unimaginable biotechnologies. The author examines the action of physical rules through a multitude of examples, including the packaging of viral DNA, the structure of membranes, the laying out of body plans in embryogenesis, organs on a chip, genome editing, prion diseases, and cystic fibrosis.