In recent years, with the prosperity in biological research, the position of physics is being undermined. A group of renowned physicists recently got together and looked for ways to restore Atara to its former glory
By Gareth Cook, Boston Globe, Haaretz
1978: The first test-tube baby
On a high slope in the Colorado Rockies, several physicists gathered and thought of ways to restore Atara to its former glory.
For many years, physics prospered: the age of Einstein and the atomic bomb gave physicists an aura of heroism, and the field enjoyed generous government funding and an honorable place at the top of the scientific hierarchy. But the century of physics has ended, and now the century of biology has begun. The prospect of genetics radically improving everything from human health to agriculture has captured the public imagination and Washington's money pipelines.
And so, several physicists, including three Nobel laureates, gathered at a resort outside Aspen to plan ways to jump on the bandwagon of biology, and perhaps even change its direction. Already now, in laboratories around the world, physicists are flocking to the life sciences and creating a new, vital and intellectually vibrant field.
The meeting also showed signs of a cultural earthquake. At times it was a vision of arrogance mixed with atypical humility, reminiscent of the waning years of the British Empire. While some physicists sipped chardonnay on the balcony and others wondered aloud if biologists really cared about "the truth", some of those present argued that the ousted queen of the sciences needed a refresher in her approach.
"It's time to stop thinking we're so wonderful," declared Robert Austin, a Princeton University physicist who helped organize the conference. Austin reminded the audience that the giant particle accelerator, the Super Collider, whose construction was proposed in the 80s, is a hole full of water in Texas, while these guys mapped the human genome ten years earlier than planned and at a third of the price.
"Biology provides physics with the new front," said Robert Leflin, the 1998 Nobel laureate in physics who now devotes himself to theoretical problems in biology. Laflin said one of his motivations was money. According to data compiled by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, federal funding for the physical sciences has increased over the past 21 years by 175%, while funding for the life sciences has increased by 20%. William Eaton, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health, said that during that time there has been a dramatic development in employment opportunities. For physicists in the fields of biology. Ten years ago, he said, a student who graduated could choose from two research positions in the faculty, compared to XNUMX today.
Biology is gradually attracting scientists from many fields outside of physics, including mathematics, computer science and engineering. In fact, some of the most vibrant areas in science lie on the fringes of the old disciplines. Some argue that this is proof that the old ways of conceptualizing problems are hindering progress. "The problem is that we live in the 21st century with 19th century guilds," said John Hopfield, a Princeton scientist who was one of the first physicists to switch to biology.
Physicists have long played an important role in developing new ways of imaging living systems, such as the MRI machines that are placed in many hospitals and more exotic research tools with names like "X-ray crystallography" and "two-photon imaging". But the new partnership goes much deeper. The physicists hope to contribute fundamentally new ways of thinking, and not just new ways of dealing with biological problems.
One of the fascinating applications of their work is the study of the mechanical properties of the cell in search of signs of disease. Cells have an internal structure known as the cytoskeleton, which helps them maintain their shape in the same way that tent poles maintain the shape of a tent. For years scientists have known that the cytoskeleton slowly breaks down in cancer cells. But recently, a researcher from the University of Leipzig announced a method that makes it possible to quickly distinguish between healthy cells and cancerous cells, and in this way assess the extent of the cancer's spread.
The researcher, Josef Kass, told the attendees of the conference, which took place on the last weekend of July, that he used laser beams to measure the stiffness of cells. He proved, according to him, that there is a correlation between these measurements and the degree of progression of breast cancer. Initial clinical trials are currently underway to test the technology.
One of the most active research areas in biological physics is in the field of protein folding. Proteins can be distorted and arranged in a dizzying variety of shapes, which change the way they function. According to the explanation, the origin of many diseases is in non-functional proteins. In Alzheimer's disease, for example, it is known that a protein found in the brain, beta amyloid, folds in a different way than usual and accumulates in clumps inside the brain.
Peter Lansbury's research from Harvard Medical School hints at the importance of protein folding. Lansbury believes that the beta-amyloid clusters are not harmful in themselves, but that the damage is caused by one of the folding forms of the proteins. He showed that one of the intermediate steps in the process, at the end of which beta amyloids accumulate in clumps, is a dangerous form of folding that is capable of punching holes in cell membranes. If scientists can come up with a method to prevent proteins from folding in this way, Lansbury said, they may be able to prevent Alzheimer's disease.
Physicists who participated in the conference in Aspen also believe that understanding biological systems may lead to breakthroughs in deciphering complicated physical problems, such as providing a full explanation for the phenomenon of superconductivity. Biology is by nature the study of the operation of complex systems, and the deeper the understanding of such systems, the more it may shed light on the ways of activity of matter as it is, and not only of life forms.
"Don't ask what physics can do for biology," concluded Hans Fraunfelder, one of the pioneers in the field. "Ask what biology can do for physics".
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