February 2023 MBR The Science Shelf

The Science Shelf

Physics of Life
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
9780309274005, $60.00, PB, 370pp

https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Medicine-National-Academies-Sciences/dp/0309274001

Synopsis: Biological physics, or the physics of living systems, has emerged fully as a field of physics, alongside more traditional fields of astrophysics and cosmology, atomic, molecular and optical physics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, particle physics, and plasma physics.

This new field brings the physicist's style of inquiry to bear on the beautiful phenomena of life. The enormous range of phenomena encountered in living systems - phenomena that often have no analog or precedent in the inanimate world - means that the intellectual agenda of biological physics is exceptionally broad, even by the ambitious standards of physics.

With the publication of "Physics of Life", the National Academies Press presents the first decadal survey of this field, as part of a broader decadal survey of physics. This report communicates the importance of biological physics research; addresses what must be done to realize the promise of this new field; and provides guidance for informed decisions about funding, workforce, and research directions.

Critique: A Consensus Study Report of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, "Physics of Life" is exceptionally well organized and presented, making it an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, college, and university library Biological Sciences collections and as a textbook for Biological Physics curriculum syllabus.

Editorial Note: The National Academies Press (NAP) publishes more than 200 publications per year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and medicine, providing authoritative, independently researched information on important matters in science and health policy.

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