Although invisible to the bare eye, bacterial cells are large enough to make complex decisions. Cells are composed of thousands of different molecular species including DNA, proteins, and smaller molecules, allowing them to sense their environment, to process this information, and to respond accordingly. Such responses include expression of genes or the control of their movement. Despite these properties, a living cell exists in the physical world and follows its laws. Keeping thisin mind can help answer questions such as how cells work and why they implement solutions to problems the way they.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Chemotaxis in bacterium Escherichia coli -- Physical concepts -- Mathematical tools -- Signal amplification and integration -- Robust precise adaptation -- Polar receptor localization and clustering -- Accuracy of sensing -- Motor impulse response -- Optimization of pathway -- "Seeing like a bacterium" -- Beyond E. coli chemotaxis -- Appendix more techniques.

"This textbook is aimed at newcomers in the field of biological physics, especially motivated undergraduate and beginning graduate students with a mathematical and physical background, taking interest in the area of quantitative biology"--