Professor John F. Marko
Departments of Physics and Bioengineering
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Monday, April 16, 2001
3:00 pm (CT)
3269 Beckman Institute

Abstract

Physical - and to a large degree mechanical - properties of nucleic acids and proteins are essential to their functions in living cells. Therefore understanding function of nucleic acids and proteins requires an understanding of their mechanical properties. I will discuss the rapid progress that has been made over the last decade in studying physical properties of single DNA molecules with micromanipulation techniques, and the future research directions for this field. I will then discuss how our lab has started to study whole chromosomes from cells using similar micromanipulation techniques. I will focus on the basic elastic response of chromosomes and on how we can unfold them using applied force and shifts in chemical conditions.

Tea and coffee will be served in R3151 Beckman Institute at 2:15pm.