Summary
Medical and biological physics applies principles of physical science to the study of living systems and the development of diagnostics and therapies. At the molecular scale it examines how electronic excitation, vibrational modes and quantum coherence govern energy transfer in proteins and light‐harvesting complexes. At cellular and tissue scales it explores how mechanical forces arise from cytoskeletal dynamics and cell–matrix interactions, shaping processes such as migration, division and mechanotransduction. In parallel clinical applications harness ionising and non‐ionising modalities—from X‐rays and ultrasound to magnetic resonance and hyperpolarised tracers—to generate high‐resolution images and deliver targeted treatments. This interdisciplinary field integrates quantitative imaging, micro‐ and nanotechnology, computational modelling and theoretical frameworks to bridge fundamental biophysics with medical innovation. Its insights underpin the design of wearable sensors, mechanotherapeutic scaffolds, advanced imaging contrast agents and precision radiotherapy, driving progress towards personalised diagnosis and intervention.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have advanced the measurement of cellular forces and energy transport at unprecedented resolution. A deformable photonic‐crystal hydrogel substrate has been used to convert submicrometre deformations by vascular cells into visible colour shifts at video‐rate speeds, enabling reference‐free mapping of traction in three dimensions without fiducial markers. In natural photosynthetic systems, single‐photon experiments on bacterial antenna complexes demonstrated that individual quanta trigger ultrafast exciton migration under ambient conditions, confirming operation at the single‐photon limit. Complementary two‐dimensional electronic spectroscopy of phycobilisome trimers revealed that symmetric vibrational modes preserve exciton–vibrational coherence nearly ten times longer than anti‐symmetric modes, offering a mechanism for sustained coherence in a noisy biological environment.
Topic trend for the past 5 years
The graph below shows the article count in Nature Index journals for medical and biological physics.
* The ‘Current Index’ represents data for a 12-month rolling window, the current window is 1 May 2025 - 30 April 2026.
Technical terms
Traction‐force microscopy (TFM): A technique that infers the forces exerted by adherent cells on a compliant substrate by tracking deformations of embedded markers or structured sensors.
Photonic‐crystal hydrogel: A polymer network with a periodic structure whose local refractive index—and thus structural colour—shifts in response to mechanical deformation.
Exciton: A bound state of an excited electron and hole that transports electronic excitation energy across coupled pigment molecules.
Vibronic coupling: The interaction between electronic and vibrational states in molecules, which can sustain coherent energy transfer.
Hyperpolarisation: Techniques that increase nuclear spin population differences by orders of magnitude to amplify NMR signals for enhanced imaging contrast.
Compton camera: An uncollimated gamma‐ray imaging device that reconstructs the source distribution by measuring successive Compton scattering events.
Notable articles in medical and biological physics
- Protein-Based Model for Energy Transfer between Photosynthetic Light-Harvesting Complexes Is Constructed Using a Direct Protein–Protein Conjugation Strategy. Journal of the American Chemical Society (2023).
- Imaging cellular forces with photonic crystals. Nature Communications (2023).
- Single-photon absorption and emission from a natural photosynthetic complex. Nature (2023).
- Quantum phase synchronization via exciton-vibrational energy dissipation sustains long-lived coherence in photosynthetic antennas. Nature Communications (2024).
- Fluctuation-Based Super-Resolution Traction Force Microscopy. Nano Letters (2020).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Research
Position of Medical and Biological Physics in Nature Index by Count
Leading institutions
Leading countries/territories
| Countries/territories | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| China | 73 | 67.85 |
| United States of America (USA) | 29 | 14.8 |
| Italy | 13 | 8.36 |
| Germany | 14 | 8.2 |
| United Kingdom (UK) | 13 | 6.14 |
| France | 13 | 5.36 |
| Japan | 5 | 3.72 |
| Netherlands | 8 | 2.81 |
| Saudi Arabia | 5 | 2.54 |
| Czech Republic | 6 | 2.39 |
Collaboration
Top 5 leading collaborators in Medical and Biological Physics
Collaborating institutions
Note: Hover over the bars to view details about each institution's Share.
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