Biophysical science in Italy: SIBPA turns 40.

This Special Issue of Biophysical Chemistry includes a selection of the papers presented at the XXI Congress of the Italian Society of Pure and Applied Biophysics (i.e., SIBPA, Società Italiana di Biofisica Pura ed Applicata) held on September 2012 at the University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy. Topics cover all biophysical disciplines, from molecular to cellular, to integrative biophysics giving an almost comprehensive view of the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches, proper of the modern biophysics. SIBPA, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2013, has steadily grown and appeals to both specialists and a wider general audience.