Re: What is Biophysics?

To answer your question, it is easiest to reference the Biophysical Society's definition:

"The range of interests referred to as BIOPHYSICS is very broad, as biophysicists use experimental and theoretical approaches and develop new physical and chemical methods to address the mechanisms of biological processes at every level. Among those who fall into the category of biophysicists are biochemists, cell biologists, molecular biologists, neuroscientists, animal and plant physiologists, structural biologists, as well as chemists, engineers, mathematicians, physical chemists and physicists. Biophysics is composed of subfields including information theory, applied mathematics, photobiology, bioenergetics, biological control systems and molecular biology and shares boundaries with physics, chemistry, cell biology, genetics and physiology."

They also list the areas generally considered to be "biophysical":

Bioenergetics; Biophysical Theory or Modeling; Cell Biophysics; Channels, Receptors, Transporters; Electrophysiology; Membranes; Muscle and Contractility; Nucleic Acids; Photobiophysics; Proteins; Spectroscopic Imaging and Other Techniques; and Supramolecular Assemblies

In my experience, biophysics tends to be weighted heavily towards dealing with the physical properties and interactions of macromolecules, such as deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA), ribonucleic acids (RNA), and proteins, in order to study their biological function. However, it is clear from the above list, that biophysics is not limited to the physics of macromolecules.

I hope that adequately answers your question!

Brian Cobb