Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/03/2011
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm

Title: Probing the Physical Properties of Individual Bacterial Cells: Physics Meets Biology

Speaker: Dr. John Dutcher, Univ of Guelph

Institute: University of Guelph

Location: ABB 102

Description:

Bacteria are microorganisms that have evolved over 3.5 billion years and are responsible for many phenomena in the world around us, ranging from causing diseases to helping to digest food to shaping the surface and sub-surface of the Earth. In response to their environment, bacteria have evolved an amazing set of specialized materials and strategies to ensure their survival. I will describe our physics-based approach to study the physical properties of bacteria, focusing on our AFM-based measurements of the mechanical properties of individual bacterial cells, and our studies of the effect of antimicrobial compounds on the mechanical properties and the oscillations of min proteins.