Comparative Biomechanics: Life's Physical World

Book Description

Why do you shift from walking to running at a particular speed? How can we predict transition speeds for animals of different sizes? Why must the flexible elastic of arterial walls behave differently than a rubber tube or balloon? How do leaves manage to expose a broad expanse of surface while suffering only a small fraction of the drag of flags in high winds?

The field of biomechanics--how living things move and work--hasn't seen a new general textbook in more than two decades. Here a leading investigator and teacher lays out the key concepts of biomechanics using examples drawn from throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. Up-to-date and comprehensive, this is also the only book to give thorough coverage to both major subfields of biomechanics: fluid and solid mechanics.

Steven Vogel explains how biomechanics makes use of models and methods drawn from physics and mechanical engineering to investigate a wide range of general questions--from how animals swim and fly and the modes of terrestrial locomotion to the way organisms respond to wind and water currents and the operation of circulatory and suspension-feeding systems. He looks also at the relationships between the properties of biological materials--spider silk, jellyfish jelly, muscle, and more--and their various structural and functional roles.

While written primarily for biology majors and graduate students in biology, this text will be useful for physical scientists and engineers seeking a sense of the state of the art of biomechanics and a guide to its rather scattered literature. For a still wider audience, it establishes the basic biological context for such applied areas as ergonomics, orthopedics, mechanical prosthetics, kinesiology, sports medicine, and biomimetics.

Customer Reviews:

A lot of interesting material.......2007-09-10

I had read one of the author's previous books, 'Life in moving fluids', several years ago as part of a biomechanics course. I liked it, so when I saw this book I had high expectations. After reading it, I was not disappointed.

There is a very nice mix of developing basic concepts (e.g. buoyancy or fluid flow) and how living organisms use these in their daily lives (e.g. a fish's swim bladder or a bird's wing).

These general arguments are obviously important for addressing a great number of questions. From paleobiology, could pterosaurs fly or just glide? How fast could a T-Rex run? Why are there so few surface swimming animals? Some other interesting facts he presented were: how spiders use hydraulic force to extend their legs, why gliders tend to have long thin wings, how cell metabolism rate varies with organism size (I was aware of the mouse-elephant curve, but was quite surprised to hear this), hearts have self-triggering muscles and that some fish have their eyes located in a position such that the pressure does not vary with swimming speed (important so that the focal point does not change).

Some of the physics presented was interesting even outside of its use in biology. In my experience fluid dynamics is not covered much in physics, mainly just Bernoulli's equations and Reynolds number. I think most physicists would improve their understanding and intuition of fluid dynamics by reading this book. The materials topics, like crack propagation, were also interesting.

The book covers the basics of Newtonian mechanics (and things like units and dimensional analysis) used throughout the book. I skipped these chapters so I cannot comment on whether they provided an adequate background for the remainder of the book.

Needless to say, I liked this book a lot. I liked both coverage of the general principles and the specific cases used to illustrate them.

Only an introduction to biomechanics.......2006-02-21

I am a grad student in biology who recently got interested in spider silk biomechanics. I was looking for a good book on biomechanics and my advisor suggested that I get this one. It was so disappointing !

The coverage of the various topics is quite superficial. The chapter on biological materials is especially disappointing to me : since I already knew what were 'stress', 'strain' and 'Young's modulus', I didn't learn anything. I guess you can learn as much by just surfing the web -- and that's for free.
I also think the book lacks equations and formulae. You can go through 10 pages without seeing any equations -- just text. Maybe 'equations' does not mean 'scientific rigor', but I can't help prefering a good old equation to lines and lines of text.

Maybe I was expecting too much from this book. So okay, if you are a biologist, don't like maths and have never heard of biomechanics, you may enjoy that book. But you have to be aware that it is REALLY an introduction.

Best introductory physics textbook ever.......2004-06-25

This book would be a fantastic text for an introductory physics class, eg, mechanics classes aimed at future doctors. It begins with the "simple" problem of walking, which can be understood as an oscillation, with the frequency tuned to the length of your legs. From there, the book proceeds to dimensional analysis, and treats the biomechanical universe as a set of simple tubes, surfaces, flows, beams, and levers, all amenable to simple calculation and estimation. This book contains more real, relevant physics than any introductory physics text (with the possible exception of the Feynman lectures, which are totally unsuited for first-year students). It is the best physics textbook we know. (Review co-written by Dr Sanjoy Mahajan, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge).

Offer from the author..........2003-11-02

An accumulation of instructional materials to accompany the book will be sent as an e-mail attachment to anyone who contacts me at svogel@duke.edu--just tell me a little about who you are. The files (Word and PDF) are freely usable for anything except remunerative republication. If you are using the book in a course and wish to limit local dissemination (I supply answers to the problem sets), tell me and I'll do my best to comply.

Thermodynamics and Kinetics for the Biological Sciences

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Excellent
Biologic Thermo without all the ideal gas BS

Thermodynamics and Kinetics for the Biological Sciences
Gordon G. Hammes
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471374911

Book Description

Gain a working knowledge of thermodynamics and kinetics with a minimum of mathematics-a guide for individuals in the biological sciences

An understanding of thermodynamics and kinetics is essential for researchers investigating molecular phenomena in diverse disciplines, including bioorganic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, pharmaceuticals, and biology. The use of these physical chemistry tools in the biological sciences has exploded over the past fifteen years, but the majority of works on thermodynamics and kinetics require mathematical expertise beyond that of many researchers in the field. Presenting a highly accessible introduction to thermodynamics and kinetics, Thermodynamics and Kinetics for the Biological Sciences employs a minimum of mathematics, assuming only a basic calculus background, while treating a wide range of topics in a logical and easy-to-follow style. All principles and concepts are clearly illustrated through the use of relevant applications and examples from the biological sciences, and explanations are further enhanced with problems and up-to-date references. Written by a world-renowned authority on biochemical kinetics, this remarkable book also features an easy-to-understand statistical development of entropy and a more extensive coverage of chemical kinetics and ligand binding to macromolecules than is usually found in books of this kind. Readers will acquire a working knowledge of thermodynamics and kinetics that they can readily apply to biological systems and use for exploring the scientific literature.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2001-05-12

I used this book as a supplement in a 4th semester chemistry course targeted for biology and premedical students this past term. It has excellent up-to-date examples and good problems. Hammes does a nice job of presenting at an appropriate level topics from thermodynamics and kinetics needed to read and understand biochemical articles. Such things as the meaning of the biochemical (as opposed to the chemical) standard state are particularly well done -- better than in other books I have seen for this audience.

But why does Wiley price [it at its cost]? Perhaps it is the nice color plates --- but at a lower price I would have had everyone in my class buy this as a suppplement to the text. At this price I am reluctant to do so.

Biologic Thermo without all the ideal gas BS.......2001-05-02

I enjoyed reading and studying this "thermodynamic/kinetics with a biochemistry twist". Most thermo books get too bogged down with ideal gases and the cost in time versus the benefits of material learned is too great. Dr. Hammes however has an easy reading style and focuses in on the "meat" of physical biochemistry pertaining to thermodynamics and kinetics. I am not a formal student, but a cardiologist interested in physical biochemistry. P-Chem learning requires doing the problems. The only drawback to Professor Hammes's textbook is that there are no solved problems or solutions manual for the problems in the back of each chapter. Nerds like me find these problems as a useful exercise in learning to insure that we have mastered the material. You will not be disappointed in this book.

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good introductory work
Excellent starting for Biophysics

Biophysics
Roland Glaser
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540670882

Book Description

Biophysics - the science of physical principles of life itself, of biological systems - is presented here not merely as physics for biologists, but as an entirely independent subject with its own innate network of ideas and approaches. From the microscopic forces that constitute life, the intramolecular bonds and ionic interactions, to the macroscopic forces of the environment, temperature and pressure, the author presents and explains all aspects of life from a Biophysicist's point of view. Exciting biological themes such as neuronal processing and differentiation as well as current medical and environmental topics are introduced from a surprising perspective in this imaginative new textbook.

Customer Reviews:

good introductory work.......2004-09-20

This is a very thoroughly written introductory work for biophysics, an area where it is very difficult indeed to find intro-level textbooks.

Both biologists and physicists will find many new things worth exploring, and this book will certainly provide the basics for further research and study. It isn't the ten volume all-you-will-ever-want-to-know-about-biophysics, but whichever area You are starting to work with, from membrane transport to biomechanics, have a look at this book first.

Excellent starting for Biophysics.......2003-09-22

This book is written by a biologist. However, the author discussed lots of physics topics closely related to basic biological phenomena. The most important role of this book, I believe, is making the bridge between physics and biology as well as biochemistry. Untill now, most of biophyiscs text books have been a kind of biochemsitry text book like ones. This one is distingusihed from those. This is also good for biochemistry student who wants to study physical aspects of biological system beyond the scope of biochemistry. Some parts of this book might be difficult for biology and biochemistry students but surely deserves to be read.

Stochastic Modelling for Systems Biology (Mathematical and Computational Biology)

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Correct title: Stochastic modeling of biological systems

Stochastic Modelling for Systems Biology (Mathematical and Computational Biology)
Darren J. Wilkinson
Manufacturer: Chapman & Hall/CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1584885408

Book Description

Although stochastic kinetic models are increasingly accepted as the best way to represent and simulate genetic and biochemical networks, most researchers in the field have limited knowledge of stochastic process theory. The stochastic processes formalism provides a beautiful, elegant, and coherent foundation for chemical kinetics and there is a wealth of associated theory every bit as powerful and elegant as that for conventional continuous deterministic models. The time is right for an introductory text written from this perspective. Stochastic Modelling for Systems Biology presents an accessible introduction to stochastic modelling using examples that are familiar to systems biology researchers. Focusing on computer simulation, the author examines the use of stochastic processes for modelling biological systems. He provides a comprehensive understanding of stochastic kinetic modelling of biological networks in the systems biology context. The text covers the latest simulation techniques and research material, such as parameter inference, and includes many examples and figures as well as software code in R for various applications. While emphasizing the necessary probabilistic and stochastic methods, the author takes a practical approach, rooting his theoretical development in discussions of the intended application. Written with self-study in mind, the book includes technical chapters that deal with the difficult problems of inference for stochastic kinetic models from experimental data. Providing enough background information to make the subject accessible to the non-specialist, the book integrates a fairly diverse literature into a single convenient and notationally consistent source.

Customer Reviews:

Correct title: Stochastic modeling of biological systems.......2006-05-10

This is one of several recent books with system biology in the title, but first book with emphasis on statistics and stochastic approach. The book discusses some simple math models for biological systems, mostly biochemical models. Main focus is on statistical issues in differentail modeling, those as discussed in the nice Bower and Bolouri (2000) book, and the strong point is the use of Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method for stochastic modeling. Weakness is that, the systems considered are too low-dimensional, and there is a long way toward real system biology issues, which will likely be much more complex, and involve potentially many high-dimensional interactions. Overall, it is simply a very straightforward introductory book, lacks depth and breadth. However, it should serve as a good starting point for people who want to learn something about stat and probabilistic methods relevant to bios system modelling.

Physical Chemistry for the Biological Sciences (Methods of Biochemical Analysis)

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Physical Chemistry for the Biological Sciences (Methods of Biochemical Analysis)
Gordon G. Hammes
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Structure and Mechanism in Protein Science: A Guide to Enzyme Catalysis and Protein Folding

ASIN: 0470122021

Book Description

Gain a practical, working knowledge of the physical chemistry essential for the biological sciences

Physical Chemistry for the Biological Sciences is an excellent resource for biochemistry and biology/health science professionals and students who need a basic understanding of thermodynamics, kinetics, hydrodynamics of macromolecules, and spectroscopy in order to explore molecular structure and chemical reactions. Approachable, yet thorough, the book presents physical chemistry in conceptual terms with a minimum of mathematics. Providing the basic knowledge and tools that every biologist should have to understand the quantitative interpretation of biological phenomena, it covers:

Fundamentals of thermodynamics and chemical kinetics
Fundamentals of spectroscopy and structure determination
Ligand binding to macromolecules, hydrodynamics, and mass spectrometry

Book Description

In a chemical system with many chemical species several questions can be asked: what species react with other species: in what temporal order: and with what results? These questions have been asked for over one hundred years about simple and complex chemical systems, and the answers constitute the macroscopic reaction mechanism. In Determination of Complex Reaction Mechanisms authors John Ross, Igor Schreiber, and Marcel Vlad present several systematic approaches for obtaining information on the causal connectivity of chemical species, on correlations of chemical species, on the reaction pathway, and on the reaction mechanism. Basic pulse theory is demonstrated and tested in an experiment on glycolysis. In a second approach, measurements on time series of concentrations are used to construct correlation functions and a theory is developed which shows that from these functions information may be inferred on the reaction pathway, the reaction mechanism, and the centers of control in that mechanism. A third approach is based on application of genetic algorithm methods to the study of the evolutionary development of a reaction mechanism, to the attainment given goals in a mechanism, and to the determination of a reaction mechanism and rate coefficients by comparison with experiment. Responses of non-linear systems to pulses or other perturbations are analyzed, and mechanisms of oscillatory reactions are presented in detail. The concluding chapters give an introduction to bioinformatics and statistical methods for determining reaction mechanisms.

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Enzymes at the interface

Interfacial Enzyme Kinetics
Otto G. Berg , and Mahendra Kumar Jain
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

A vast number of biochemical reactions are catalysed by molecules fixed to the surface of membranes (or other biological structures) with molecules in the surrounding solution. The study of the mechanisms at these "Biointerfaces" are becoming increasingly important for the understanding of biological catalysts, such as enzymes. This project is the first book to deal with the physical and chemical principles of an emerging field of science, for which the authors have set the ground-work.

The first book to deal with this newly emerging area.
Concentrates on the chemical and physical foundation of enzyme catalysis
Key area for the deeper understanding of biocatalytic processes
Examples for proteins and nucleic acids, two central areas of biochemical and bioorganic research

Customer Reviews:

Enzymes at the interface.......2005-01-08

Convenient though it may be to talk in undergraduate lectures on enzyme kinetics as if nearly everything of interest happened in homogeneous aqueous solution, we all know that in reality it is not so. So a book that concentrates on reactions that occur on surfaces or in mixed phases is most welcome, especially for people who need to work with these systems in real life, for example in large-scale engineering applications.

The book is at its strongest in describing the more qualitative aspects of the subject, such as the components of biological membranes in the earlier chapters. When the authors come on to the necessary algebra for their presentation, however, their treatment becomes much less clear, and cannot be said to bring the subject to life.

In summary, this is a useful source of descriptive information about interfacial systems, but kinetic analysis is presented in an unstimulating way, and numerous points that ought to be explained are left unexplained.

Introductory Biomechanics: From Cells to Organisms (Cambridge Texts in Biomedical Engineering) (Cambridge Texts in Biomedical Engineering)

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Introductory Biomechanics: From Cells to Organisms (Cambridge Texts in Biomedical Engineering) (Cambridge Texts in Biomedical Engineering)
C. Ross Ethier , and Craig A. Simmons
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521841127
Release Date: 2007-04-09

Book Description

Introductory Biomechanics is a new, integrated text written specifically for engineering students. It provides a broad overview of this important branch of the rapidly growing field of bioengineering. A wide selection of topics is presented, ranging from the mechanics of single cells to the dynamics of human movement. No prior biological knowledge is assumed and in each chapter, the relevant anatomy and physiology are first described. The biological system is then analyzed from a mechanical viewpoint by reducing it to its essential elements, using the laws of mechanics and then tying mechanical insights back to biological function. This integrated approach provides students with a deeper understanding of both the mechanics and the biology than from qualitative study alone. The text is supported by a wealth of illustrations, tables and examples, a large selection of suitable problems and hundreds of current references, making it an essential textbook for any biomechanics course. C. Ross Ethier is a professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, the Canada Research Chair in Computational Mechanics, and the Director of the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto, with cross-appointment to the Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Sciences. His research focuses on biomechanical factors in glaucoma and blood flow and mass transfer in the large arteries. He has taught biomechanics for over ten years. Craig A. Simmons is the Canada Research Chair in Mechanobiology and an assistant professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, with cross-appointments to the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering and the Faculty of Dentistry. His research interests include cell and tissue biomechanics and cell mechanobiology, particularly as it relates to tissue engineering and heart valve disease.

Transport Phenomena and Kinetic Theory: Applications to Gases, Semiconductors, Photons, and Biological Systems (Modeling and Simulation in Science, Engineering and Technology)

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Transport Phenomena and Kinetic Theory: Applications to Gases, Semiconductors, Photons, and Biological Systems (Modeling and Simulation in Science, Engineering and Technology)

Manufacturer: Birkhäuser Boston
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 081764489X

Book Description

The study of kinetic equations related to gases, semiconductors, photons, traffic flow, and other systems has developed rapidly in recent years because of its role as a mathematical tool in many applications in areas such as engineering, meteorology, biology, chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, and pharmacy. Written by leading specialists in their respective fields, this book presents an overview of recent developments in the field of mathematical kinetic theory with a focus on modeling complex systems, emphasizing both mathematical properties and their physical meaning.

The overall presentation covers not only modeling aspects and qualitative analysis of mathematical problems, but also inverse problems, which lead to a detailed assessment of models in connection with their applications, and to computational problems, which lead to an effective link of models to the analysis of real-world systems. The book is divided into three parts: Part I presents fundamental aspects of the Boltzmann equation; Part II deals with the modeling of semiconductor devices as well as related applications and computational topics; Part III covers a variety of applications in physics and the natural sciences, offering a range of very different conceivable developments of mathematical kinetic theory.

Transport Phenomena and Kinetic Theory is an excellent self-study reference for graduate students, researchers, and practitioners working in pure and applied mathematics, mathematical physics, and engineering. The work may be used in courses or seminars on selected topics in transport phenomena or applications of the Boltzmann equation.

Biological Kinetics (Cambridge Studies in Mathematical Biology)

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Biological Kinetics (Cambridge Studies in Mathematical Biology)

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

The central purpose of this book is to illustrate the premise that examination of the kinetics of biological processes can give valuable information concerning the underlying mechanisms that are responsible for these processes. Topics covered range from cooperativity in protein binding, through receptor-infector coupling, to theories of biochemical oscillations in yeast and slime mold. In addition, an introduction to the explosively growing theoretical topic of chaos details attempts to apply this theory in physiology. The material in this book originally appeared as part of the volume Mathematical Models in Molecular and Cellular Biology (edited by Lee A. Segel and now out of print). Each article has been revised and updated.

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