Biology is living soft matter biological surfactants (lipids) make up the membranes, while proteins and DNA are biological polymers. Brownian motion has a dominant role diffusion on structures with reduced spatial dimensionality (2-dimensional on membranes and 1-dimensional on various filamentous structures such a microtubules) play a crucial role in transport and other processes, while diffusion in a very-high-dimensional free-energy landscape underlies protein folding. The new insights into soft matter gained by physicists over the last few decades can therefore be expected to have significant impact on the understanding of biological systems, from single biomolecules through to cells and (perhaps) beyond. In particular, the increasing attention paid by soft condensed matter physicists to non-equilibrium phenomena and dynamics are crucial to the interaction between the two fields the two italicised words being almost synonymous with life itself! The purpose of this ASI/SUSSP is to gather together some of the principal scientists responsible for pushing back the frontiers of the application of soft matter physics to the understanding of biological systems and give them the opportunity to present the tools of their trade and some of the latest results to junior researchers.
The ASI/SUSSP is receiving additional sponsorship from: