Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Biomechanics
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this graduate-level course on how mechanical forces act on biological matter across scales. Lectures build up continuum mechanics and statistical mechanics tools, then apply them to problems ranging from protein and polymer molecules, through cell membranes and cytoskeletal structures, up to tissues and organs. Topics include scaling laws that connect behavior at one length scale to another, elasticity and viscoelasticity of biological materials, and molecular motors and filament networks. Course materials include lecture notes, problem sets, and readings drawn from primary literature in biological and mechanical engineering. The course assumes background in mechanics and is aimed at students in biological, mechanical, or materials engineering who want a quantitative framework for biomechanical phenomena. As with other MIT OpenCourseWare offerings, all materials are free to access online with no certificate offered.