Physical aspect of microscopic behaviour of biomolecules

摘要

I studied theoretical physics in the University of Tokyo and got a Doctor of Science degree in 1969. My thesis dealt with a theoretical analysis of nonlinear wave propagation on a liquid layer. After that I have been working until recently in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyko University of Agriculture and Technology. From about 1980 I have been interested in mechanisms of pattern formations in physical systems, and have also been engaged in running the Society for Science on Form in Japan. Thanks to this activity, I have had many chances to meet scientists from other fields, especially the biological sciences. Several years ago I had a graduate student, who had been a medical doctor and wanted to analyse the structure of human lung airways. She got a Doctor of Engineering degree on the basis of this work and we wrote a joint paper on the subject (Kitaoka et al 1999). Since then, I have maintained an interest in the problem of formation of macroscopic organ shapes. Originally, the behaviour of microscopic elements in biological systems was unfamiliar to me. However, the thermal motions of molecules were familiar. Would they not be negligible in the microscopic world; and might they destroy microscopic order? This article is a result of my speculations on the effect of thermal motions of molecules in biological systems.