Since the discovery of the DNA double helix, physical sciences and genetics, which conceptualize biological phenomena in terms of genes (objects) and mutations (perturbations), have converged, giving rise to molecular biology that incorporates the deductive reasoning of physics. Developed through highly interdisciplinary discourse, this field has propelled cellular biology forward through genetic sequencing and DNA recombination technologies. At the same time, however, there is a renewed need to return to the original aim of deeply understanding biomolecular function and to develop new perspectives and approaches toward that end.

Biomolecular functions emerge in aqueous environments and are sustained by cooperative interactions formed by hydrogen-bonding networks and by dynamic rearrangements of hydration structures at biomolecular interfaces. Viewed from the perspective of electromagnetic waves, the dynamics arising from interactions with water manifest most sensitively in the terahertz frequency range. In other words, using terahertz as a conceptual axis, one can capture fluctuations of hydrogen-bonding networks and collective vibrational modes of molecular assemblies, which become particularly pronounced on the high-frequency side of broadband dielectric responses. This provides a unique observational window into the dynamics that underlie biomolecular functions.

Moreover, irradiation of terahertz waves may induce non-thermal effects on biomolecule–water systems, suggesting a role as a physical perturbation not present in conventional biology. With the aim of opening a new discipline that integrates both “observation” and “perturbation” to understand and ultimately control molecular function in biology, the Terahertz Biology Study Group was established.

We organize an annual scientific meeting and promote the creation and dissemination of new concepts for understanding biomolecular function. The meetings emphasize interdisciplinary discussion and focus on the essential questions and unresolved problems arising from molecular functions produced by interactions with water, without restricting methods or approaches to terahertz techniques alone.

• 2025/12/01
  Announcement of site launch
  We have published the official website of the Terahertz Biology Study Group. Information about future meetings will be posted here as available.
• Coming soon
  Information on the next workshop will be posted here once the date and venue are decided.

• 2025/09/23
  Terabio Workshop 2025 — Call for participation
  Revisiting biomolecular functions from the response to microwave to terahertz wave radiations
  Date & Time: Tuesday, September 23, 2025.