News from the EPS Division of Physics in Life Sciences
One year ago in January 2017 the Division of Physics in Life Sciences (DPL) organised the first Biology for Physics conference of what should become a regular conference series approaching physics from a biological perspective.
Since the dawn of modern science, physics has developed the measurement tools for quantitative inquiry, and provided mathematical laws to describe and understand the world around us. In turn, physical methods have found applications in biology making it the quantitative science it is nowadays. However, despite this progress, living matter has astonishing features that, when compared to those of inanimate matter, make physicists suspect that they are missing something in their understanding of the living. The main goal of the conference was to debate the question: Is there new physics in living matter? About 170 scientists gathered together to discuss a wide spectrum of problems where biology appeared as a source of inspiration for physics. In the traditional view physics appears as a source of methodological tools and concepts applied to approach biological problems giving rise to modern biophysics. The organisation of the series of BioforPhys conferences was set to explore the opposite direction where biology is seen as a playground to explore and discover new physics.
I am happy to announce that the preparations for the next BioforPhys conference have already started. The new conference is now expected to take place in Barcelona in the autumn of 2019 and will be focused on the most general aspects of evolution. Evolution is current one of the most exciting research topics with broad implications to all modern sciences, from Darwinism in biology to evolutionary diseases in biomedical research, passing through the most varied spectrum of fundamental problems in physics and mathematics. We expect to organize a fantastic conference with the most relevant topics and speakers in the area. We will keep you updated about progress in the organization of this new event. We expect seeing you all there!!
