Blood flow through arteries represents a very complex, fluid–structure interaction (FSI) problem. Strong coupling between the blood and artery is due to the relatively low stiffness of the artery compared to that of blood. Hence, the pressure exerted by the flowing blood on the artery wall can result in considerable deformations of the artery, and vice‐versa, arterial deformations can in turn affect the blood flow. In the present work, the finite volume method is employed to solve the problem where compressible fluid, representing blood, flows in healthy arteries as well as in unhealthy, i.e., partly stiffened arteries. The stiffening of the arterial wall is assumed to be the first key stage in the development of atherosclerosis. The comparison between various deformation profiles of healthy and unhealthy arteries demonstrates significant and measurable differences, in particular in the radial direction. This is hoped to help toward establishing procedures for early diagnosis of the disease.

Biological cells contain nanoscale machineries that exhibit a unique combination of high efficiency, high adaptability to changing environmental conditions, and high reliability. Recent progress in obtaining atomically resolved structures provide an opportunity for an atomic-level explanation of the biological function of cellular machineries and the underlying physical mechanisms. A prime example in this regard is the apparatus with which purple bacteria harvest the light of the sun. Its highly symmetrical architecture and close interplay of biological functionality with quantum physical processes allow an illuminating demonstration of the fact that properties of living beings ultimately rely on and are determined by the laws of physics.