DNA origami nanostructures as molecular rulers to measure membrane thickness

脂质或脂肪分子是细胞中非常重要的部分。细胞产生数千种不同的脂质和数百种蛋白质来制造和运输这些脂质，但很大程度上不知道为什么细胞投入如此多的能量来维持如此多样化的脂质群体。这个跨学科项目的目标是了解脂质，特别是它们的侧链如何参与重要的生物事件。学生将制作并组装一个基于DNA纳米结构的分子尺。这将首次产生一种测量活细胞膜厚度的工具。

Lipids, or fat molecules, are very important parts of cells. Cells produce thousands of different lipids and hundreds of proteins to make and transport these lipids, but it is largely unknown why cells invest so much energy into maintaining such a diverse population of lipids. The goal of this interdisciplinary project is to understand how lipids, and especially their side-chains, participate in important biological events. The student will make and characterise a DNA nanostructure-based molecular ruler. This will, for the first time, result in a tool to measure membrane thickness in live cells.