Date/Time
Date(s) - 29/09/2010
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm

Title: Molecules, cells, and behavior: Thermal information processing in E. coli and C. elegans

Speaker: Dr. William Ryu, University of Toronto

Institute: University of Toronto

Location: ABB 102

Description:

Sensory processing is a universal, complex function of biological systems. While we have learned a great deal about individual molecules and cells that allow these functions to happen, in most cases we do not know how they function together at a systems level. In this talk I will describe biophysical measurements we have made to understand thermosensory processing in E. coli and C. elegans, and also what makes these organisms interesting to a physicist. Both these systems have evolved networks that measure temperature, encode this temperature, and compute a behavioral output that moves them toward a preferred temperature (thermotaxis). Based on system-level measurements and candidate networks identified at the single protein or single cell level, we hope to answer questions such as: 1) what computation are the organisms making to perform thermotaxis? 2) where is the preferred temperature encoded in the sensory network? 3) how does one quantify behavior for a complex responses?