Physics in cell biology: on the physics of biopolymers and molecular motors.

"What is Life?" is the title of a book by Erwin Schrödinger, first published in 1944. This book is a bold attempt to try to understand some of the wonders of life in terms of physics, in particular statistical mechanics. Since the publication of this visionary book, we have seen a revolution in molecular biology complemented by the development of new physical tools like single-molecule spectroscopy. The goal of this article is to highlight some examples where physics can contribute to questions in cell biology. One might hope that through interdisciplinary research one can get closer to answering Schrödinger's fundamental question.