Physics Colloquium-Michael Brenner, Harvard
(More about event)Towards the principles of self assembly
Abstract:
In biological systems, there are striking examples where complicated structures (i.e., the bacterial ribosome) can spontaneously assemble, driven by specific interactions between the components. But how can systems be designed to have this property? Recent technological advances have created the opportunity for making technologically relevant systems that self assemble, by e.g. coating colloidal particles with DNA. We will discuss how self assembly works in this system, through theory, numerical simulation and experiment -- and start to speculate as to whether resulting principles might be useful for unravelling the rules of biological self-assembly.
Location: Jadwin A10
Date/Time: 02/16/12 at 4:30 pm - 02/16/12 at 6:00 pm
Category: Physics Colloquium
Department: