NFYK15006U Biophysics of Cells and Single Molecules

Knowledge:
The course participants will gain 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 and cellular biophysics research, going through the most important and remarkable results achieved also, for instance in the biomechanics of stem cells. Emphasis will be on how, in practice, to treat non-equilibrium nano-scale systems. In addition, the course participants will gain experience in reading, understanding and criticizing primary literature and will be trained in presenting and questioning research results.

Skills:
The course will enable the participant to

• obtain knowledge about the physics of polymers. Be able to quantify the typical physical size, flexibility and elasticity of polymers. Utilize this knowledge on to understand the biomechancis of living cells and organisms.
• understand the energetics of membrane bending, hereunder to predict the shape of self-assembled membrane structures. This knowledge is useful for understanding shape and function of cellular components and whole cells.  
• understand how living organisms generate force and motion and how they respond to mechanical cues. This includes a physics based understanding of biopolymers and polymerization dynamics, an understanding of the action of molecular motors, and a thorough understanding of cellular micro-rheology.
• gain knowledge about the most common single molecule techniques, including optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers, single molecule flourescent techniques, super resolution microscopy, and AFM.
• 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.
• understand and be able to apply non-equilibrium theories including Jarzynski's Equality and Crooks theorem.
• perform a thorough and critical reading of a scientific manuscript.
• have a general overview of the entire field with some knowledge of the status of research internationally.
   

Competencies:
The course participants will gain competencies in applying methods of physics to obtain a quantitative understanding of complex biological systems. The course participants will understand how important force and mechanical properties are for development and life at all scales. The course participants will also gain competences in understanding the working method, capabilities, and limitations of single molecule techniques and they will be able to utilize non-equilibrium statistical physics for analyzing nano-scale systems. Finally, the students will gain the competencies to critically read a scientific paper, to find the background material needed to fully understand the paper, and to perform a presentation of primary literature.