Biophysics - Life and Living Systems

Reproduction is the best and easiest way to know that we're living systems - we can actively make new life. Also our capacity to heal shows that we are autopoietic. Autopoiesis means that the system is both the producer and the product. Think of when we heal from a wound. Our body sends energy and nutrients to the site to regenerate what was hurt. We grow a scab and then new skin - we both produced these things, and yet the product is a part of us. We actively can regenerate which means that we are living systems. 
Understanding biophysics helps us understand Chinese medicine. Biophysics looks at both the biologic and the mathematics in our universe and uses them to create a large picture or understanding. In this way we can see patterns and have a better grasp on the macrosystem in which we live. Chinese medicine is all about looking at the microsystem of our body and understanding how it interacts and responds similarly to the macrosystem. We talk about our bodies like we talk about the weather - they have wind, cold, dampness, heat.  The more we understand these concepts of the macrosystem the more we can understand the nature of ourselves - our own microsystems. Understanding concepts in biophysics can help us better understand the universe, and because we are a part of that universe, it helps us better understand ourselves. 

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