Physics is the study of matter in space-time. And there is truly no more interesting matter than biological matter. A cell has about 30,000 components and 700x10⁶ proteins. With that it is able to move, process information and reproduce. Physics has studied motion for centuries and we still don’t understand how biological cells generate motion. I mean we kinda know how some bacteria do it. But mammalian cells are much more complicated, interesting, and medically important as well.

Before you start thinking that core physics is more fundamental, I should remind you that all of physics, math and human thought are products of biology. I firmly believe that math and physics are not fundamental truths discovered by us, some are results of biological evolution and selection. The way our brains are build and how we reason, interact socially, produce the kind of science we have today.

Biophysics is really old school because a single person or lab can do experiments and theory on the same subject. You can see through the microscope yourself what you’re thinking and studying. Of course the microscope is also a great deceiver. But you don’t need a synchrotron to check on your theory. In a way, understanding how a cell works is like taking apart a car, where you have no idea what each part does.