Margaret Gardel (U. Chicago): What is Cytoplasm?

Margaret Gardel explores the physical properties of cytoplasm and explains why understanding cell mechanics requires a new physics.

ibiology.org/cell-biology/what-is-cytoplasm/ Talk Overview: Margaret Gardel explores the physical properties of the cytoplasm, a complex fluid inside the cell that is crowded with proteins, organelles, and filamentous networks. She ponders, for example, how motor proteins overcome the physical resistance of carrying cargo, and how cells undergo shape changes in response to different stimuli. To help address these questions, she argues that a “new physics” is required. Speaker Biography: Margaret Gardel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics, James Franck Institute, and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics at the University of Chicago. She draws from the fields of condensed matter physics and cell biology to study the mechanics of physical behaviors of cells, including adhesion, shape changes, and force generation.