Product Description
During development cells and tissues undergo changes in pattern and form that employ a wider range of physical mechanisms than at any other time in an organism's life. This book demonstrates how physics can be used to analyze these biological phenomena. Written to be accessible to both biologists and physicists, major stages and components of the biological development process are introduced and then analyzed from the viewpoint of physics. The presentation of physical models requires no mathematics beyond basic calculus.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 3 reviews)

A fascinating description of cell interactions and development

"Biological Physics of the Developing Embryo" is a remarkable causal description of embryonic development as controlled by the interplay of physical and biomolecular processes. Based on their expertise in both theory and experiment (Forgacs is a condensed matter physicist and Newman was trained in physical chemistry, and each currently directs a program in cell and tissue biology), the authors present an engaging and original view of cell-cell interactions and multicellular morphogenesis and pattern formation. They offer a paradigm within which spatiotemporal cell behavior is explained by the concerted action of "generic" physical principles and specific genetic factors. Reading the book is made easy for both the physical and life scientist by the logic of its presentation: early development is presented according to the major stages familiar to the biologist in a clear fashion that also provides a short introduction to each event or process (cleavage, differentiation, gastrulation, segmentation, several kinds of organogenesis, fertilization) for the physicist. The physical modeling of each developmental episode is then discussed, making a smooth transition that is not overwhelming for the biologist. Each chapter ends with a short "perspective" which epitomizes the main conceptual lessons of the chapter resulting from the synthesis of experimental facts and relevant physical models. Books of this kind are rare, although badly needed, due to the large accumulation of facts. Not to be lost in the sea of data, an atheoretical descriptive analysis is no longer an option. Experimental results must be supplemented by systematic modeling for useful interpretations to emerge. The book by Forgacs and Newman teaches us how to accomplish this.
October 27, 2006

Unique Perspective on the Relationship Between Physics and Biological Development

While the course of embryological development is extremely complex, many of the component processes that go into shaping an embryo are strongly reminiscent of simpler physical phenomena which occur in nonliving materials. Some of these analogies are exact, the same physics applies in both cases. However, often the analogy is inexact or even misleading. Thus, while physical analogies can be extremely useful in understanding development, they also need to be approached with caution. Until now, no book-length overview has reviewed the many successes and pitfalls of a biological-physics approach to development and the material available in technical articles has been dispersed and often written in a technical jargon inaccessible to its target audience. Biological Physics of the Developing Embryo, fills this niche in a style that is easily comprehensible by advanced undergraduate biologists and physicists (and assumes minimal background on either side), while containing enough material that even senior researchers in development will learn a great deal. I've been working in the area for 15 years and found many ideas and references that were both new and valuable. The biological illustrations and examples are well chosen and cover almost every aspect of development in a clear, logical sequence. The consistent philosophy and approach of the two writers, one a physicist and bioengineer and the other a developmental biologist, helps organize an apparently heterogeneous collection of models and developmental mechanisms into a coherent story.

Because of its novelty and breadth, the book contains a number of minor errors, which will doubtless be corrected in a future edition. Overall, this is a path-breaking book, which I am recommending to all of my own students and to any colleagues interested in the question "What does physics have to say about development?"

May 30, 2006

Interdisciplinary concepts mediated between biology and physics

The book by Forgacs and Newman on one hand introduces important biological concepts for physicists with interest in development, covering properties of isolated cells and principles of their regulation, the interaction between cells and cell and their environment, the formation of tissues by morphogenesis, principles underlying organogenesis, and evolutionary aspects important in development.
On the other hand the book also presents the complex interplay of physical processes under genetic control during development. It introduces fundamental physical concepts from point and continuum mechanics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics (including critical phenomena), dynamical systems theory and reaction-diffusion systems. A major strength of the book is that physics is introduced through fundamental biological processes, thus using a framework familiar to biologists (and not the other way around, as in most texts on biophysics). The selection of examples captures many stages and processes during development.
The model description does not stop at the level of purely qualitative text description but includes the basic equations and their analysis, although this is done at an elementary level, requiring minimal knowledge of calculus (and the more complicated concepts are discussed in special "Boxes"). In this way the book also contains a short course in mathematical model formulation written for biologists. It does not aim at replacing existing books on developmental biology or biophysics but fits into the gap between both. It builds an interface between physicists and biologists in embryonic development and thereby should facilitate the reading of the more specialized books on developmental biology by physicists as well as the better understanding of physical principles and mathematical models and the role these play in biological systems, by biologists.
March 20, 2006

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