KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

Detailed Program (pdf) | Keynote Addresses
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All keynote addresses are held in Memorial Auditorium

Thursday | Friday | Saturday

Thursday, August 23, 2007, 8:30 am - 9:30 am
Singing, breathing and wing waving – biomechanics of vocal behavior in birds
Franz Goller

In birds as in humans, sound production involves coordinated activity of two main motor systems, vocal muscles and respiratory muscles. The vocal organ of songbirds, the syrinx, contains two independent sound generators, each controlled by six muscles. Although the major functional roles of these syringeal muscles are documented, the biomechanics of the vocal organ are not well understood. As an example I will discuss the evidence for direct muscular control of sound frequency and gating of airflow. Singing also involves drastic changes to breathing patterns, including rapid switching between expiration and inspiration. I will discuss the avian respiratory system and its contributions to song production, including fine control of the driving pressure for phonation. In addition, some visual displays affect respiratory mechanics and their simultaneous performance with song must require complex coordination of these multi-modal displays.

 

Friday, Aug 24, 2007, 8:30 - 9:30 am
Single Molecule Measurements of Motor Proteins, In vitro and In vivo.
Paul Selvin

The standard diffraction limit of light is about 250 nm, meaning that
you cannot "resolve" objects closer than this distance. Despite this, we
have come up with a method to measure 1.5 nm in 1-500 msec, using a
technique we call Fluorescence Imaging with One Nanometer Accuracy
(FIONA). We have chosen to study molecular motors, which are involved
in moving things around within the cell, both in purified systems, and
inside living cells. There has been a question as to whether molecular
motors move things in an "inchworm" fashion, or in a "hand-over-hand"
fashion (i.e. by "walking".) We have definitively determined that
myosin, and kinesin, two important motors, walk in a "hand-over-hand"
manner in purified systems. In living cells (that is, in Drosophila, or
fruit fly cells), we have seen cargos being moved by individual
"conventional" kinesin and dynein. We find that both kinesin and dynein
move cargo 8 nm per ATP. Amazingly, these two molecular motors do not
engage in a tug-of-war, but appear to be cooperative, taking terms
hauling the cargo.

Saturday, Aug 25, 2007, 8:30 - 9:30 am
Borelli Lecture
Richard Lieber