Life is produced by the interplay of water and biomolecules. This book deals with the physicochemical aspects of such life phenomena produced by water and biomolecules, and addresses topics including 'Protein Dynamics and Functions', 'Protein and DNA Folding', and 'Protein Amyloidosis'. All sections have been written by internationally recognized front-line researchers. The idea for this book was born at the 5th International Symposium 'Water and Biomolecules', held in Nara city, Japan, in 2008.

Kunihiro Kuwajima is Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at the Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience. He also serves as a professor at the Institute for Molecular Science and at the Graduate University for Adavanced Studies (SOKENDAI). His major research interests are protein folding and molecular chaperones.

Yuji Goto is Professor of Protein Science at the Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University. His major research interests are protein folding and misfolding including amyloid fibril formation.

Fumio Hirata is Professor of Theoretical Chemistry at the Institute for Molecular Science. He also serves as a professor at the Graduate University for Adavanced Studies (SOKENDAI). His major interests are molecular theory of chemical processes in solution.

Mikio Kataoka is Professor of Biophysics at the Graduate School of Materials Science at Nara Institute of Science and Technology. He also serves as a group leader of Neutron Biophysics Group at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. His major research interests are the molecular basis of protein folding and functioning. He is also interested in the photoenergy conversion mechanism of light absorbing proteins.

1;Preface;6 2;Contents;9 3;List of Contributors;15 4;1 Mapping Protein Folding Landscapes by NMR Relaxation;18 5;2 Experimental and Simulation Studies of the Folding/ Unfolding of Goat a-Lactalbumin;29 6;3 Transition in the Higher-order Structure of DNA in Aqueous Solution;52 7;4 Generalized-Ensemble Algorithms for Studying Protein Folding;75 8;5 Protein Folding and Binding: Effective Potentials, Replica Exchange Simulations, and Network Models;110 9;6 Functional Unfolded Proteins: How, When, Where, and Why?;135 10;7 Structure of the Photointermediate of Photoactive Yellow Protein and the Propagation Mechanism of Structural Change;149 11;8 Time-Resolved Detection of Intermolecular Interaction of Photosensor Proteins;160 12;9 Volumetric Properties of Proteins and the Role of Solvent in Conformational Dynamics;184 13;10 A Statistical Mechanics Theory of Molecular Recognition;198 14;11 Computational Studies of Protein Dynamics;222 15;12 Biological Functions of Trehalose as a Substitute for Water;230 16;13 Protein Misfolding Diseases and the Key Role Played by the Interactions of Polypeptides with Water;252 17;14 Effect of UV Light on Amyloidogenic Proteins: Nucleation and Fibril Extension;277 18;15 Real-Time Observation of Amyloid Fibril Growth by Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy;299 19;Index;310