Physics and Astronomy Calendar

Fluorescence Fluctuation Spectroscopy of Biological Systems: What optical noise can teach us about proteins, cells and viruses?

Every cellular process involves a complex network of protein interactions. The rules and design of these networks are currently poorly understood. It is our goal to directly visualize these interaction networks on the molecular level to contribute to the physical and biological understanding of living systems. We exploit optical signal fluctuations originating from single protein molecules to learn about the assembly, transport, and interaction of biomolecules. I’ll explain the technique and discuss applications ranging from gene regulation to the assembly of the HIV virus.