Translated from the Russian by Artavaz BeknazarovFirst published 1983Revised from the 1981 Russian editionThis book is intended for students and post-graduates—biologists mid physicists—who study biophysics. The book has emerged from the lectures given by the author for many years at the Moscow Physico-Technical Institute and from two monographs published earlier. The first of these monographs, Molecular Biophysics, was published in Russian in 1975 and in English by Academic Press in 1977. The second, General Biophysics, was issued in Russian in 1978 and is being prepared for publication by Academic Press. A con­siderable part of the book has been written anew. At the same time the above two monographs are recommended to the reader for a more thorough study of the subject. They are provided with extensive bibliography.In my opinion, biophysics is not a subsidiary branch of biology -- but a legitimate part of the physical sciences. Biophysics is the physics of living things. Accordingly, an attempt has been made to divorce biophysics from physiology, though these fields overlap to a considerable extent. Though the book is devoted mainly to the theoretical problems of biophysics, it also deals with the most important experimental findings. ContentsPreface 5Chapter 1. Goals and Methods off Biophysics 11 1.1. The Place of Biophysics in Natural Sciences 11 1.2. Physics and Biology 13 1.3. Living and Inanimate Nature 15 1.4. Biological Individuality 17 1.5. Finalism and Causality 18 1.6. The Properties of Open Systems 19 1.7. Scope and Methods of Biophysics 22Chapter 2. Chemical Foundations off Biophysics 25 2.1. Chemistry and Biology 25 2.2. Amino Acids 27 2.3. Electrolytes  29 2.4. The Composition and Primary Structure of Proteins 34 2.5. Nucleic Acids 36 2.6. Adenylates 43 2.7. The Chirality of Biological Molecules 45 2.8. Carbohydrates and Lipids 49 2.9. Cofactors, Vitamins, and Hormones 51 2.10. The Main Biochemical Processes 55 2.11. Strong and Weak Interactions 58Chapter 3. Physics off Macromolecules 63 3.1. Macromolecules and Rubber Elasticity 63 3.2. Internal Rotation and Rotational Isomerism 66 3.3. The Rotational-Isomeric Theory of Macromolecules 71 3.4. The Macromolecule as a Cooperative System 78 3.5. The Coil and the Globule 82 3.6. Methods of Investigation of Macromolecules 85 3.7. Polyelectrolytes 91Chapter 4. Physics of Proteins 95 4.1. The Goals of Protein Physics 95 4.2. Conformations of the Polypeptide C h a in 97 4.3. The Hydrogen Bond and the Structure of W ater 103 4.4. Helix-Coil Transitions 108 4.5. The Protein Globule and Hydrophobic Interactions 1144.6. Relationship Between the Primary and the Three-Dimensional Structure of Proteins 119 4.7. The Structure and Stability of theGlobule 125 4.8. Antibodies and Antigens 132 4.9. Fibrous Proteins 138Chapter 5. Methods of Investigation of the Structure of Biopolymers 142 5.1. X-Ray Diffraction Analysis 142 5.2. Diffuse Scattering of X-Rays bySolutions of Biopolymers 148 5.3. Methods of Nuclear Physics 150 5.4. Electronic Absorption Spectra 153 5.5. Luminescence 157 5.6. Optical Activity 161 5.7. Optical Activity of Biopolymers 169 5.8. Magnetic Optical Activity 174 5.9. Vibrational Spectra 1785.10. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and ElectronParamagnetic Resonance 182Chapter 6. Physics of Enzymes 188 6.1. Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis 188 6.2. Kinetics of Simple EnzymaticReactions 193 6.3. Chemical Aspects of Enzyme Action 198 6.4. Conformational Properties of Enzymes 205 6.5. Physics of Enzyme-Substrate Interactions 209 6.6. Electronic-Conformational Interactions 2126.7. Cooperative Properties of Enzymes 217 6.8. Myoglobin and Hemoglobin 224Chapter 7. Physics of Nucleic Acids 236 7.1. Molecular Biology and Physics 236 7.2. The Structure of Nucleic Acids 239 7.3. Intramolecular Interactions in the Double Helix 247 7.4. Thermodynamics of Melting of the Double Helix 250 7.5. Kinetics of Unwinding of the Double Helix 260 7.6. Interaction of the Double Helix with SmallMolecules and Ions 265 7.7. Replication of DNA 268Chapter 8. Physics of Protein Biosynthesis 275 8.1. The Problem of the Genetic Code 275 8.2. Protein Biosynthesis 280 8.3. Transcription and Reverse Transcription 2848.4. Transfer RNA  2868.5. Translation 2898.6. Deciphering of the Genetic Code and Its Meaning 294 8.7. Mutations 301 8.8. Regulation of Genes 306Chapter 9. Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics in Biology 313 9.1. Information and Entropy 313 9.2. Nonequilibrium Processes 319 9.3. Coupling of Fluxes 322 9.4. Coupling of Chemical Reactions 325 9.5. Steady States of Linear Systems 329 9.6. Coupling of Chemical Reactions to Transport of Matter 335 9.7. Far-from-Equilibrium Processes 339Chapter 10. Physics off Membranes 346 10.1. Cell Membranes 346 10.2. The Structure of Membranes 348 10.3. Conformational Properties of Membranes 351 10.4. Passive Membrane Transport 355 10.5. Active Membrane Transport 361 10.6. Transport of Charged Particles Through Membranes 368 10.7. Molecular Reception 372Chapter 11. Physics of the Nerve Impulse 377 11.1. The Axon and the Nerve Impulse 377 11.2. Propagation of the Nerve Impulse 388 11.3. Generation of the Nerve Impulse 39411.4. Ionic Channels 399 11.5. Synaptic Transmission 402Chapter 12. Mechanochemical Processes 40612.1. Thermodynamics of Mechanochemical Processes 406 12.2. The Structure of the Muscle and Muscle Proteins 411 12.3. The Chemistry and Physics of the Muscle 417 12.4. The Theory of Muscular Contraction 42312.5. The Kinetic Properties of the Muscle 431 12.6. Mechanochemical Systems 433 12.7. Biomechanics 437Chapter 13. Bioenergetics of the Respiratory Chain 440 13.1. Biological Oxidation 440 13.2. The Structure and Properties of Mitochondria 446 13.3. Chemiosmotic Coupling 449 13.4. Electronic-Conformational Interactions 457 13.5. Cytochrome c 463Chapter 14. Photobiological Processes 466 14.1. Photosynthesis 466 14.2. Two Photochemical Systems 472 14.3. Chloroplasts 477 14.4. The Mechanism of Photosynthesis 481 14.5. Vision 485 14.6. The Molecular Mechanism of Photoreception 489 14.7. Bacteriorhodopsin 497Chapter 15. Modelling of Dynamic BiologicalProcesses 50115.1. Dynamic Order 50115.2. Physico-Mathematical Foundations of the Dynamics of Nonlinear Processes 50415.3. Lotka-Volterra Models 51515.4. Autocatalytic Systems 521 15.5. Phase Transitions 527 15.6. Stochastic Processes 532 15.7. Dynamics and Regulation 535Chapter 16. Periodic Chemical and BiologicalProcesses .538 16.1. Introduction 538 16.2. Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reactions 539 16.3. Auto-oscillations in Glycolysis 547 16.4. Auto-oscillations in Photosynthesis 551 16.5. Nonlinear Dynamics of Membranes 554 16.6. Autowave Processes in the Cardiac Muscle 559Chapter 17. Problems of Biological Evolution and Development 564 17.1 The Origin of Life 564 17.2. Modelling of Prebiotic Evolution 568 17.3. Game Models and Informational Aspects of Self-Organization 572 17.4. Hypercycles 575 17.5. Other Models of Prebiological Evolution 579 17.6. Biological Evolution 585 17.7. Ontogenesis 589 17.8. Immunity 596 17.9. Biological Evolution and Information Theory 60217.10. Complexity and Evolution 611 Recommended Literature 619 Name Index  624 Subject Index  627