Progress in Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry

Progress in Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Volume 7 focuses on the applications of physical or physicochemical ideas and methods to biological problems, including the use of isotopes to investigate metabolic processes. Other subjects discussed in detail are the electric organs of fishes; the thermodynamics of agglutination of red cells; muscle structure and function; and the structure of bone. This book is comprised of seven chapters and begins with a review of the mechanisms of discharge of electric organs in fish in the contexts of general and comparative electrophysiology, paying particular attention to synaptic excitability and the involvement of several electrogenic components in the reflex discharge. The evolution of electric organs in fish is also discussed. The following chapters explore the thermodynamics of isohemagglutinins; use of labeled plasma proteins to study nutritional problems; use of isotopes to analyze intermediary metabolism; and X-crystal analysis of bone. The final two chapters are devoted to muscle structure and theories of contraction, chloroplast structure, and energy conversion in photosynthesis. This volume will be of interest to biophysicists, physicists, and physical chemists working with biological materials.