Article
Version 1
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Introducing the Physical Driving Forces into Biology
Version 1
: Received: 15 February 2023 / Approved: 16 February 2023 / Online: 16 February 2023 (08:43:17 CET)
How to cite: Popovic, M. Introducing the Physical Driving Forces into Biology. Preprints 2023, 2023020279. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202302.0279.v1 Popovic, M. Introducing the Physical Driving Forces into Biology. Preprints 2023, 2023020279. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202302.0279.v1
Abstract
Life sciences are increasingly benefiting from multidisciplinary research, combining biology, chemistry and physics. At their intersection, biothermodynamics applies the quantitative framework of thermodynamics to life processes and is a potentially interesting subject for life science students. Here a method is proposed to teach undergraduate life science students the basics of biothermodynamics, building and expanding on the concept of Gibbs energy learned as a part of the physical or general chemistry course. The discussion begins with the role of Gibbs energy as the driving force of metabolism and growth. Moreover, a biological example is proposed of the enthalpy-entropy combinations resulting in negative Gibbs energy, which should be interesting to life science students. Gibbs energy is then used to explain microorganism growth rates, using a simple thermodynamic growth model. Finally, multiplication of viruses is considered, including SARS-CoV-2, using Gibbs energy to explain the hijacking of host cell metabolism. Implementation of the proposed biothermodynamics material in classroom is discussed. The paper should be useful as material for making lectures for undergraduate students and as a starting point for anyone beginning to do research in biothermodynamics.
Keywords
Biophysics; Biothermodynamics; Growth; Microorganism; Virus; Enthalpy; Entropy; Gibbs energy
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Virology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Comments (0)
We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.
Leave a public commentSend a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
