Molecules and Life

1 Physics and Biology.- Physics and Life.- Molecular Physics.- Molecular Biophysics.- Thermodynamics and Biology.- Information Theory.- 2 Cells, Viruses, and Heredity.- The Living Cell.- Cell Division.- Viruses and Bacteriophages.- Basic Laws of Genetics.- Mutations and Mutability.- Genetics of Bacteria and Phages.- 3 Biological Molecules.- Amino Acids and Proteins.- Asymmetry of Biological Molecules.- Primary Structure of Proteins.- Nucleic Acids.- Some Biochemical Processes in the Cell.- 4 Physics of Macromolecules.- Physical Properties of Macromolecules.- Rotational-Isomeric Theory of Macromolecules.- Macromolecules-Cooperative Systems.- Crystalline Polymers.- Methods for Studying Macromolecules in Solution.- Polyelectrolytes.- 5 The Physics of Proteins.- Secondary Structure of Proteins.- Tertiary and Supramolecular Structures of Proteins.- Interactions Which Determine the Three-Dimensional Structure of Proteins.- Conformational Transitions of Proteins.- Theory of Helix-Coil Transitions.- Optical Properties of Proteins and Polypeptides.- Optical Activity of Polypeptide Chains.- Anomalous Dispersion of Magneto-Optical Rotation.- 6 The Physics of Nucleic Acids.- Biological Role of Nucleic Acids.- Secondary Structure of DNA, RNA, and Polynucleotides.- Denaturation of DNA.- Renaturation of DNA and Forces Which Stabilize the Double Helix.- DNA Reduplication.- Statistical Physics and Kinetics of DNA Reduplication.- 7 Protein Synthesis.- Problems of the Genetic Code.- Matrix Synthesis of Proteins.- The Genetic Code.- Point Mutations.- Problems of Regulation.- 8 Biological Specificity and Structure of Molecules.- Immunity.- Antibodies and Antigens.- Enzyme Reactions.- Nature of Enzymatic Action.- Allostery and Oxygenation of Hemoglobin.- Nucleoproteins and Synapsis of Chromosomes.- 9 Mechanochemical Processes.- The Nature of Mechanochemical Processes.- Muscle Action.- Molecular Theories of Muscle Action.- Motion of Cells and Mitosis.- 10 Problems of Molecular Biophysics.- Macromolecules and Biology.- Molecular Biophysics and Quantum Mechanics.- 11 Conclusion.- References.