Fw: Potentially Important Seminar by A.A. KORNYSHEV today

[Barbara Corzani]

>> JOINT ICTP/SISSA CONDENSED MATTER SEMINARS
>> Academic Year 2006/07
>>
>> Seminar Room - Main Building (first floor)
>> Wednesday, 23 May -     4:00 p.m.
>>
>> A.A. KORNYSHEV   ( Imperial College London )
>>
>> " DNA interaction, recognition and aggregation.  Love at first sight "
>>
>> Abstract
>>
>> How can meters of genetic material be packed in mammalian sperm and
>> phage heads?  Why do some ions condense DNA, while others do not?  Why
>> does DNA change its structure in dense aggregates?  These and other
>> questions, including a mechanism for snap-shot genegene recognition in
>> recombination of homologous genes suggested by Kornyshev and Leikin are
>> addressed within an ongoing research program of a ?transatlantic? team
>> at the Departments of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences of Imperial
>> College London, and the Physical Biochemistry Group of the Institute of
>> Child Health and Human Development of the National Institute of Health
>> (Bethesda, MD, USA).  This project is based on Kornyshev-Leikin theory
>> of interaction of helical macromolecules in solutions. In line with a
>> wealth of experimental data (such as the observed poly- and
>> meso-morphism of DNA assemblies, and the measured decay range of
>> repulsive forces between various helical macromolecules) this theory
>> was recently extended to the statistical mechanics of DNA columnar and
>> cholesteric phases, and DNA mechanics - mapped on forefront models of
>> nonlinear physics (A. Cherstvy, A. Kornyshev, D.J. Lee, S. Leikin, A.
>> Wynveen).  One of the recent results was the experimental proof of
>> azimuthal correlations between DNA in hydrated aggregates (A.A.
>> Kornyshev, D.J. Lee, S. Leikin, A. Wynveen, S. Zimmerman), predicted by
>> the theory. The latest experiments of Imperial-NIH team (G. Baldwin, N.
>> Brooks, A. Goldar, S. Leikin, R. Robson, J. Seddon) has recently
>> approved existence of the physical mechanism of homology recognition in
>> protein free environment, predicted by KL in 2001. The effect of
>> homology recognition is what presumably warrants against errors in
>> homologous recombination of genes ? the process responsible for
>> evolution and genetic diversity, as well DNA repair. Thus understanding
>> the recognition mechanism may result in the future in understanding how
>> to avoid such errors that themselves are responsible for a number of
>> genetically determined diseases, such as cancer and Atzheimer?s on one
>> hand, or aging on the other hand.
>> This talk will introduce the audience to the principles of the theory,
>> present some of its main results, and review the latest experimental
>> findings.  An interested listener is referred to a detailed article
>> which will be published in the June issue of Reviews of Modern Physics:
>> A.A. Kornyshev, D.J. Lee, S. Leikin, and A. Wynveen: Structure and
>> interactions of biological helices, and the original publications,
>> listed below.
>>
>>
>> Theory of interaction between helical molecules
>> A.A.Kornyshev and S.Leikin, J.Chem.Phys. 1997,107, 3656.
>>
>> Symmetry laws for interaction between helical macromolecules.
>> A.A.Kornyshev and S.Leikin, Biophys.J., 1998, 75, 2513.
>>
>> Helical symmetry and electrostatic interaction of macromolecules in
>> dense aggregates. An impetus for DNA poly- and meso-morphism.
>> A.A.Kornyshev and S.Leikin, Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA. 1998, 95, 13579.
>>
>> Electrostatic zipper motif for DNA aggregation.
>> A.A.Kornyshev and S.Leikin, Phys.Rev.Lett., 1999, 82, 4138.
>>
>> A twist in chiral interaction between biological helices.
>> A.A.Kornyshev and S.Leikin, Phys.Rev.Lett. 2000, 84, 2537.
>>
>> Electrostatic interaction between long, rigid helical macromolecules at
>> all interaxial angles
>> A.A.Kornyshev and S.Leikin, Phys.Rev.E, 2000, 62, 2576.
>>
>> Sequence recognition in pairing of DNA duplexes.
>> A.A.Kornyshev and S.Leikin, Phys.Rev.Lett. 2001, 86, 3666. DNA need not
>> unzip.-
>> http://focus.aps.org/v7/st19.html
>>
>> Chiral electrostatic interactions and cholesteric liquid crystals of
>> DNA.
>> A.A.Kornyshev, S.Leikin, and S.Malinin, European Phys.J. E (Soft
>> Matter) 2002, 7, 83.
>>
>> Phase behavior of columnar DNA assemblies.
>> H.M.Harreis, A.A.Kornyshev, C.N.Likos, H.Loewen, and G.Sutmann,
>> Phys.Rev.Lett. 2002, 89, art.#18303.
>>
>> Temperature-dependent DNA condensation triggered by rearrangement of
>> adsorbed cations.
>> A.G. Cherstvy, A.A.Kornyshev, S.Leikin, J.Phys.Chem.2002,106, 13362.
>>
>> Torsional Deformation of Double Helix in Interaction and aggregation of
>> DNA.
>> A.G.Cherstvy, A.A.Kornyshev, and S.Leikin, J.Phys.Chem.B, 2004, 108,
>> 6508.
>>
>> Nonlinear effects in torsional adjustment of interacting DNA.
>> A.Kornyshev and A.Wynveen,. Phys.Rev.E, 2004, 69, #041905, 1-14.
>>
>> DNA-DNA interaction beyond the ground state.
>> D.J.Lee, A.Wynveen, and A.A.Kornyshev, Phys. Rev. E, 2004, 70, #051913,
>> 1-12
>>
>> Statistical mechanics of DNA assemblies.
>> A.Wynveen, D.J.Lee, and A.A.Kornyshev, Eur.Phys.J. E, 2005, 16, 303.
>>
>> Torsional fluctuations in columnar DNA assemblies.
>> D.J.Lee and A.Wynveen, J.Phys: Condensed Matter, 18, 786 (2006).
>>
>> DNA melting in aggregates: impeded or facilitated?
>> A.G.Cherstvy and A.A.Kornyshev, J.Phys.Chem.B, 2004, 108, 6508.
>>
>> Direct observation of azimuthal correlations between DNA in hydrated
>> aggregates
>> A.A.Kornyshev, D.J.Lee, S.Leikin, A.Wynveen, S.Zimmerman,
>> Phys.Rev.Lett. 2005, 95,#148102.
>>
>>
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>>
>> ----- End forwarded message -----
>>
>> -- 
>>
>> Erio  Tosatti
>>
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>>
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>> 
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