Virophysics is a branch of

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

in which the theoretical concepts and experimental techniques of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

are applied to study the mechanics and dynamics driving the interactions between virions and cells.

Overview

Research in virophysics typically focuses on resolving the physical structure and structural properties of viruses, the dynamics of their assembly and disassembly, their population kinetics over the course of an infection, and the emergence and evolution of various strains. The common aim of these efforts is to establish a set of models (expressions or laws) that quantitatively describe the details of all processes involved in viral infections with reliable predictive power. Having such a quantitative understanding of viruses would not only rationalize the development of strategies to prevent, guide, or control the course of viral infections, but could also be used to exploit virus processes and put virus to work in areas such as nanosciences, materials, and biotechnologies. Traditionally, in vivo and in vitro experimentation has been the only way to study viral infections. This approach for deriving knowledge based solely on experimental observations relies on common-sense assumptions (e.g., a higher virus count means a fitter virus). These assumptions often go untested due to difficulties controlling individual components of these complex systems without affecting others. The use of

mathematical models A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in the natural sciences (such as physics, ...

and

computer simulations Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...

to describe such systems, however, makes it possible to deconstruct an experimental system into individual components and determine how the pieces combine to create the infection we observe. Virophysics has large overlaps with other fields. For example, the modelling of infectious disease dynamics is a popular research topic in mathematics, notably in

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

or mathematical biology. While most modelling efforts in mathematics have focused on elucidating the dynamics of spread of infectious diseases at an epidemiological scale (person-to-person), there is also important work being done at the cellular scale (cell-to-cell). Virophysics focuses almost exclusively on the single-cell or multi-cellular scale, utilizing physical models to resolve the temporal and spatial dynamics of viral infection spread within a cell culture (in vitro), an organ (ex vivo or in vivo) or an entire host (in vivo).

References

External links

Related meetings/conferences

Virophysics 2015

2nd Workshop on Virus Dynamics
Biophysics Virology {{biophysics-stub