How does a laser work and why can we use it as a scalpel? What is fluorescence and how does it help us better understand biological processes in cells? Why can the actually dangerous radiation of radioactive substances help in the treatment of cancer?
We got to the bottom of these and other questions during week 3 of the ISC. In the process, participants learned through their own experiments which physical methods can be used to answer questions in the life sciences. Experiments in Forest Botany, Laboratory for Radioisotopes (Lari, University of Göttingen) used radioactive phosphorus to show very clearly how plants can absorb nutrients from the soil. A visit to Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (MPI-NAT) rounded off the week. Here, the students saw how physical technologies make it possible to resolve the structure of individual proteins in three dimensions.
ISC Course Physics in Life Sciences
