Advances in molecular biology, optics, genetics, and bioinformatics have opened the door to mapping, in molecular detail, processes inside living cells. With the ability to observe the individual moving parts of cellular machinery, concepts formerly confined to physics are entering mainstream biology. This article discusses a few ideas of this sort related to chromosome biology, to illustrate what kinds of insights physics might yet bring to our understanding of living systems.

中文翻译：

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（染色体的）物理与生物学。

分子生物学，光学，遗传学和生物信息学的进步为在分子细节上绘制活细胞内部的过程打开了一扇门。具有观察细胞机械各个运动部件的能力，以前仅限于物理学的概念正进入主流生物学。本文讨论了一些与染色体生物学有关的想法，以说明物理学可能为我们对生命系统的理解带来什么样的见解。