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Dow Foundation Lecture Series at UCSB
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Graduate Students for Diversity in Science
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Thank you for visiting the homepage of the Dow Foundation Lecture Series at UCSB organized by the Graduate Students for Diversity in Science.
For information about possible reciprocal visits, go to Scientific Exchange.
Upcoming Seminars:
Professor Erich Sackmann
Technischen Universität München
Friday, April 11, 2008
"Life in Elastic Shells"
Cells are highly crowded assemblies of functional organelles enclosed by soft elastic shells. These 2-3 nm thick leaflets are composed of multi component lipid-protein alloys and host many of life’s elementary processes. These include enzymatic reactions, hormone and photon triggered signal amplification and cell-cell recognition processes. The reduction in dimensionality renders these biochemical processes highly efficient and facilitates the signal transmission between the outside world and the cytoplasmic space of cells.
The lecture deals with the unique mechanical properties of biomembranes and their key role for the regulation of numerous cellular processes. Three aspects of this very rich and fascinating physics of living material research will be discussed.
1. The generation and role of functional domains in this two-dimensional multicomponet system by interplay of specific thermodynamic and elastic forces.
2. The stabilization of distinct cellular shapes and the control of shape transitions mediating intracellular trafficking by the curvature elasticity.
3. The control of cell adhesion processes by the interplay of elastic stresses, specific lock-and key forces and universal interfacial interactions.
ESB 1001, 4:00 pm, Presented in Association with The Materials Department/MRL Colloquium
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This webpage is maintained by D.J. Burke.
dburke at mrl.ucsb.edu