CAREER: Growth and form in biological systems: a micromechanical approach

职业：生物系统中的生长和形成：微机械方法

• 批准号: 0093658
• 负责人: Thomas Powers
• 金额: $ 37.5万
• 依托单位: Brown University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-06-01 至 2007-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0093658&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Growth; form; biological; systems

0093658PowersThe proposed research and educational program under a CAREER award consists of using thetechniques and ideas of fundamental engineering science to study problems of biological growth, shape, and movement.The research will focus on the mechanics of biological filaments, ranging in scale from DNA to multicellular fibers. In particular, the investigator will study the formation and growth of supercoiling colonies of bacteria, the motility of cells, and the mechanics of DNA transcription. These problems require the development of mechanical theories in new directions, such as coupling of growth with elasticity and chirality for understanding the writhing instability of bacterial fibers. The work will be largely theoretical at first, but an essential component is the development of a micromanipulation laboratory to characterize the material properties of the growing fibers and to test the theory. The research will be integrated with curriculum development at Brown University in the newly established biomedical engineering program, and also in efforts to meet the emerging need for training biology students in methods of quantitative reasoning. Some of the proposed experiments, such as twirling flexible macroscopic helices in glycerol to model bacterial flagella, lie within the grasp of talented undergraduates and thus blend naturally into the educational program of bringing the methods of engineering to biology. Three new courses are planned. The first is an undergraduate course which focuses on the mechanics of cells, muscle, and other tissue. The second course, also at the undergraduate level, develops the continuum mechanics of fluids and solids within the context of biomedical engineering. Finally, the third course is a graduate course which introduces students in the physical sciences and engineering to aspects of molecular and cell biology with a focus on the mechanics of molecular motors, singlebiopolymers such as DNA, and cell membranes.***

0093658Powers 职业奖拟议的研究和教育计划包括利用基础工程科学的技术和理念来研究生物生长、形状和运动问题。该研究将重点关注生物细丝的力学，其规模范围从 DNA 到多细胞纤维。 特别是，研究人员将研究细菌超螺旋菌落的形成和生长、细胞的运动性以及 DNA 转录的机制。 这些问题需要在新的方向上发展机械理论，例如将生长与弹性和手性耦合以理解细菌纤维的扭动不稳定性。 这项工作首先主要是理论性的，但一个重要组成部分是开发显微操作实验室，以表征生长纤维的材料特性并测试理论。 该研究将与布朗大学新设立的生物医学工程项目的课程开发相结合，并努力满足培养生物学学生定量推理方法的新需求。 一些拟议的实验，例如在甘油中旋转灵活的宏观螺旋来模拟细菌鞭毛，是由有才华的本科生掌握的，因此自然地融入到将工程方法引入生物学的教育计划中。 计划开设三门新课程。 第一个是本科课程，重点关注细胞、肌肉和其他组织的力学。 第二门课程也是本科课程，在生物医学工程背景下发展流体和固体的连续介质力学。最后，第三门课程是研究生课程，向物理科学和工程专业的学生介绍分子和细胞生物学的各个方面，重点是分子马达、DNA 等单一生物聚合物和细胞膜的力学。***