The subcellular and cellular level. Subcellular and cellular biophysics consider how molecules are organized into special cell structures and how these structures perform their specialized functions. The DNA molecule bears the genetic code that determines the shape and tasks of future cells. Thus, knowledge of the way DNA is synthesized has had important effects on biophysical research. The organ level.
Physical principles underlie the functioning of the eye, ear, and other body systems.
Biophysicists study the various transductions of energy as it is received and passed on as nerve impulses from the eye, ear, and other sensory organs. In the nervous system these signals are analyzed and transformed into sensations, such as the visual sensations of color, sharpness, brightness, and shape. Many branches of medicine already look to biophysics for an explanation of the functional relationship of body parts. Biophysics may also prove helpful in the prevention of disease, for when disease agents enter the body they activate defense responses triggered by events at the cell-membrane level. Since these events involve protein synthesis, their biophysical investigation may provide new ways of staving off diseases.