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BIO2001 HOME
POSTER:
SUPPORT:
National Graduate School in Materials Physics
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Prof. Robijn Bruinsma
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Summer School Lectures:
1. & 2. DNA/LIPID COMPLEXATION AND AQUEOUS ELECTROSTATICS
Solutions containing negatively charged DNA molecules and Cationic
Liposomes produce aggregates that are used to introduce DNA into cells for
gene therapy purposes. High resolution Synchrotron X-ray experiments have
shown that these complexes in fact are novel variant of smectic and
hexagonal liquid crystals. The lecture will first review the experimental
results and then the application of Poisson-Boltzmann theory to give
insight into the mechanisms of electrostatic self-assembly, in particular
the mysterious "counter-ion release" mechanism,
Conference - invited talk:
2. FORCE GENERATION OF PROTEINS AND MOLECULAR DYNAMICS
The study of the generation of mechanical force by active proteins
consuming chemical energy has progressed rapidly through the development
of single-molecule probes. Current theoretical models of protein force
generation are phenomenological, such as the "power-stroke" mechanism or
the "Brownian Ratchet". The lecture will review current theories of motor
proteins and then discuss the application of molecular dynamics studies
for a special case, the Ras protein. The force-transduction mechanisms
encountered at the molecular level in this study turn out to bear little
resemblance to the models proposed so far.
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