BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//jEvents 2.0 for Joomla//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT UID:842582c70f876833734cbd567022a597 CATEGORIES:Colloquium CREATED:20211020T183407 SUMMARY:Professor Eric Dufresne, ETH Zurich, Switzerland DESCRIPTION:
Living Droplets Get To Work
Cells need t o organize chemical reactions. In the classical view, lipid bilayer membran es define the boundaries of organelles – cellular sub-compartments with dis tinct chemical compositions. Recently, a number of liquid-like domains enri ched in specific proteins and nucleic acids have been identified. While the se membraneless organelles fulfill clear biochemical functions, they can po tentially play mechanical roles.
In this seminar, I will describe a s eries of experiments that span live cells, in vitro biochemical systems, an d synthetic materials. Together, they demonstrate three distinct ways that membraneless organelles could perform mechanical work. In equilibrium, drop lets’ interfacial energy drives adhesion and deformation. Near equilibrium, free energy liberated by condensation allows growing droplets to deform th eir surroundings. Far from equilibrium, chemical reactions localized to dro plets can create chemical gradients that drive flow.
We hope that the se basic physical insights will help us to understand the physiology of cel ls and inspire new approaches to the design of synthetic materials.
< img src="images/Eric_Dufresne_Figure.png" alt="Eric Dufresne Figure" width= "200" height="228" />
Hosted by Professor Zheng Shi
< p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Helvetica, Aria l, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: n one; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; background-color: # f7f7f7;">For Zoom meeting information, please contact Loretta Lupo @ < b>Living Droplets Get To Work
Cells need to organize chemical reactions. In the classical vi ew, lipid bilayer membranes define the boundaries of organelles – cellular sub-compartments with distinct chemical compositions. Recently, a number of liquid-like domains enriched in specific proteins and nucleic acids have b een identified. While these membraneless organelles fulfill clear biochemic al functions, they can potentially play mechanical roles.
In this sem inar, I will describe a series of experiments that span live cells, in vitr o biochemical systems, and synthetic materials. Together, they demonstrate three distinct ways that membraneless organelles could perform mechanical w ork. In equilibrium, droplets’ interfacial energy drives adhesion and defor mation. Near equilibrium, free energy liberated by condensation allows grow ing droplets to deform their surroundings. Far from equilibrium, chemical r eactions localized to droplets can create chemical gradients that drive flo w.
We hope that these basic physical insights will help us to underst and the physiology of cells and inspire new approaches to the design of syn thetic materials.
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Hosted by Professor Zheng Shi
For Zoom meeting
information, please contact Loretta Lupo @