Why is a physicist interested in biology?

The complexity of life has always fascinated physicists, who have sought to understand and decipher it. A physical approach brings a fresh perspective that often leads to a more detailed understanding of biological processes. In turn, the complexity of life often leads to the development of new physics.

Three examples will be discussed:

• The in vitro reconstitution of microtubule organization by molecular motors.
• A study of cell aggregates linked to the physics of cancer.
• Active matter. The physics of active matter studies systems at all scales, each constituent of which consumes energy: the collective behavior of groups of animals, solutions of bacteria, or suspensions of synthetic swimmers.

Mosaic of images showing microtubules (yellow) at different concentrations of two molecular motors (magenta and cyan)(scale 20 µm). ©Manuel Théry et al.

Physicist, Jean-François Joanny works at the interface between physics and biology at the Institut Curie, in the Cell Physics and Cancer unit. He holds the Chair of Soft Matter and Biophysics at the Collège de France, and also chairs the Fondation du Collège de France.

Jean-François Joanny ©Simon Cassanas