Materials Science Program Seminar

Michael Murrell, UW-Madison. Mechanical forces generated by cells modulate global shape changes required for essential life processes, such as polarization, division and spreading. The shape of the cell is governed primarily by a network of entangled polymers attached to the inside of the cell membrane. This polymer network is pushed out of equilibrium by motor proteins which convert chemical energy in the form of ATP into mechanical work, gripping and contracting the network.