Description
Prof. Dr. Margaret Gardel (Horace B. Horton Professor of Physics and Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago), "Machinery of Living Matter"
Life is supported by integrated systems of physical and chemical machines that span from the macromolecular to ecosystem scale. Physicochemical coupling that occurs across these scales give rise to essential features of life including motion and information processing. In this talk, I introduce the rich physics of this field and will describe recent efforts to understand the design principles of the active, soft matter that control the shape and motion of living cells. In particular, in my lab we are interested in the design principles by which protein-based materials generate, relax, sense and adapt to mechanical force.
