[Triumf-seminars] TRIUMF Colloquium today at 14:00

[postmaster at admin.triumf.ca]

Date/Time: Wed 2011-04-06 at 14:00

Location:  Auditorium          

Speaker:   Eldon Emberly (SFU)

Title:     Organizing Space and Time Inside Simple Cells

Abstract: Cells display a rich assortment of organized spatial structure that is often also meticulously regulated in time. A variety of cellular processes require spatial organization of various components, from the segregation of the DNA in dividing cells to the detection of vital food on the cells surface. In large eukaryotic cells, much of the spatial organization emerges as a result of active transporting mechanisms but in much smaller bacteria, many patterns emerge purely spontaneously due to specific interactions between biomolecules. In this talk I will highlight how a bacterial cell can spontaneously detect its left from right and how it uses this information to regulate DNA segregation. I will discuss a simple quantitative model of the process and show how computational simulation is able to make novel predictions for how spatial ordering arises. Lastly, a brief discussion on the application of simple physical models to cell biology will be attempted.

Stimulants available 15 minutes before the talk.

______________________________

Subscription information available at http://admin.triumf.ca/netdata/seminars/list