biophysicsACCHS2017

Biophysics and Traditional Chinese Medicine: My inquiry into this question first requires that I understand the meaning of the term biophysics and that which it encompasses. It is a multi-disciplinary field with a broad reach that investigates the underpinnings of biological systems. I have included below some quotes from various websites to help me better understand what differentiates biophysics from other disciplines that investigate our physical and biological world. My initial thought about biophysics and TCM was that any study of our physical world will contribute, even if only indirectly, to my understanding of TCM, which like biophysics is one lens through which to view  and understand natural phenomena. That being said, in a more direct sense, I am less certain about the approach of biophysics as the most effective method for understanding the natural world in a way that is applicable to our medicine.  From what I have gathered thus far, it sounds like biop...

I know I am a living system because…. The answer depends on how we define living system. The Living Systems Theory was first proposed by James Grier Miller who suggested that, “by definition, living systems are open, self-organizing systems that have the special characteristics of life and interact with their environment. This takes place by means of information and material-energy exchanges.” It is this exchange that perpetuates the continual regeneration of self as well as the propagation of future generations. Living systems transform material and information from without and produce energy from that process, which continues the cycle of regeneration and exchange. He also points out that living systems share the “essential component of DNA, RNA, protein and some other complex organic molecules that give biological systems their unique properties. These molecules are not synthesized in nature outside cells.”  DNA and RNA are in essence a manual for how to tran...