NFYK14016U Single Molecule Biophysics

Knowledge:
The course participants will gain thorough knowledge about fundamental  aspects of single molecule systems such as molecular motors, proteins, RNA and DNA, and nano-machines. Also, the course participants will gain deep knowledge of the most commonly used single molecule methodolgies,their capabilities, possibilities and limitations. These methodologies including optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers, AFM, single molecule fluorescence, and super-resolution microscopy.   The course will take the course participant to the front line of single molecule research, going through the most important and remarkable results achieved. Emphasis will also be on how, in practice, to treat non-equilibrium nano-scale systems. In addition, the course participants will gain important knowledge of how to read, understand and criticize primary literature and they will be trained in presenting and questioning research results.

Skills:
The course will enable the participant to

1) Gain knowledge about the most common single molecule techniques, these including optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers, single molecule

flourescent techniques, super resolution microscopy, and AFM.

2) Understand the the action of molecular motors such as myosin, kinesin, polymerase, and viruses.

3) To obtain knowledge of the physics of biopolymers. In particular there will be focus on the physical properties of DNA, on folding RNA structures  and proteins.

4) Understand design and function of certain nano-machines.

5) Be aware of the fundamental problems encountered when studying nature at the single molecule level. This includes the role of thermal fluctuations and the fact that most of single molecule experiments are performed in a non-equilibrium fashion, thus rendering conventional statistical mechanics inadequate.

6) Understand and utilize the most recent non-equilibrium theories these including the Jarzynski Equality and Crooks theorem.

7) Perform a thorough and critical reading of a scientific manuscript.

8) Perform an oral presentation of front-line scientific research to an active audience. 

Competences:
The course participants will

1) Gain competences which will enable them to understand the working method, capabilities, and limitations of the most wide spread single molecule techniques.

2) Gain deep insight into the action of the studied single molecule systems.

3) Be able to utilize the most novel results of non-equilibrium statistical physics on nano-scale systems.

4) Be able to critically read a scientific paper, to find the background material needed to fully understand the paper, and to perform a satisfactory presentation to an audience.