Fall 2013 Physics Colloquium
September 13; MATH 501, 4pm
NOTE SPECIAL TIME AND LOCATION
Alex Mogilner
University of California, Davis
Many-body problem of classical mechanics and physics of cell division
Prior to cell division, chromosomes are segregated by mitotic spindle.
This molecular machine self-assembles remarkably fast and accurately by an
elegant force balance in which a few tens of chromosomes both attract
and repel to centrosomes, while the centrosomes also repel each other. The
open question - how does this balance of forces maintains the proper spindle
configuration - leads to a difficult many-body problem of classical
mechanics. I will show how computer simulation,
soltions of integro-partial differential equations and experimental
microscopy, combined, help to solve this question. I will also show how
mathematical modeling contributes to understanding abnormal division of cancer cells
with multiple centrosomes.