The Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting and Conference, July 25-28, 2012
SMB 2012 Minisymposia
MS17: Molecular Motors - July 26, 11:40-1:20 p.m. SESSION F
Organizer: Jianhua Xing (Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA, USA)
Presenters: John Fricks, Denis Tsygankov, Jianhua Xing, Jin Yu
Summary. Molecular motors are nano-scale protein complexes that convert chemical energy into mechanical forces. This ability to convert stored energy assists these motors in a wide variety of mechanical tasks within the cell. While motors have been the focus of research for many years due to their central role in cell function, more recently there has been increased interest due to improved experimental methods including fluorescence imaging and laser traps. Due to both Brownian fluctuation and the inherent randomness of chemical kinetics when only a few molecules are present, stochastic processes are the predominant tool for such modeling. In these respects, molecular motors also serve as an ideal model system for the study of nano-scale single particle experiments in biology.
