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Physics Colloquium
Friday, October 14th, 2005, 4:00 P.M.

E300 Math/Science Center; Refreshments at 3:30 P.M. in Room E200

Philip Nelson

University of Pennsylvania

The mechanics of DNA at high curvature

The DNA in living cells is often imagined as a passive database of pure information -- the genome. In fact, however, the DNA molecule itself actively collaborates in its own packaging and regulation. Unraveling the underlying mechanisms of these crucial processes requires an understanding of the basic mechanical properties of the DNA duplex. But how are we to measure them? Who has a nanometer-size torque wrench? I'll review the status of mechanical experiments on single molecules of DNA, and the mounting evidence that in fact its response to external stress is not well described by the classical elasticity of thin rods, as is frequently assumed.

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