Materials Physics with Kinetoplast DNA

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Speaker(s): Alex Klotz

The biological world is the source of many materials with exotic or desirable properties. Among these, DNA molecules have served as a model system to study the physics of polymers on the single-molecule level. A kinetoplast is an exotic form of DNA, found in certain tropical parasites, that consists of thousands of circular molecules topologically linked together like a sheet of chainmail armor. I will discuss the motivation and path that lead me to study kinetoplast DNA, some recent and ongoing experimental results, and what we can learn about the physics of two-dimensional materials and mechanically-interlocked chemical bonds from studying these DNA structures.

Colloquium

Junior and senior physics majors attend our biweekly colloquium series, held on Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. in Shanahan B460. The talks are open to all students and to the public, and are frequently attended by scientists from the other Claremont Colleges, Cal Poly Pomona, and others. The series features speakers from a broad range of institutions and fields of physics.