Abstract
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The last decade has brought tremendous advances in the
methodologies that we can use to study life at the molecular
and cellular level. The role of biophysics as a discipline has
been central in this process. Physical measurement tools
allow us to visualize cellular processes with a precision
long thought impossible and physical principles guide our
mechanistic thinking about the molecular processes underlying
life. These methods have enabled a unique window
into the functioning of cells: studying how they move,
how they grow, how they divide, how they respond to their
environment, and how they interact with one another. The
advances in this field are not only proving catalytic for
our basic understanding of cellular mechanisms, but are
also feeding into developments of new diagnostics and therapies
that are rapidly finding their way into clinic.