Speaker: Professor Shin-ichi Tate

Molecular Biophysics Laboratory,

Department of Mathematical and Life Sciences, and

Research Center for the Mathematics on Chromatin Live Dynamics (RcMcD)

School of Science, Hiroshima University

Time: September 4, 14:30-15:30

Location: Room 1611, Management and Research Building, Eastern Campus

Title: How life can be understood by physics and mathematics

Abstract:

I believe most of the students in the mathematics department have never been interested in biology or life science.

This is because biology  does not seem to have any unified principle that describes every biological events under

simple concepts. In fact, most of the biological events apparently do not behave in exactly the same way, even

under the wellcontrolled experimental conditions. In addition, we can see that every cell in the same organ,

like heart, kidney, liver and so forth, behaves differently. Their cellular structures are also different to each other.

Biological events happen with extremely large noises. The small number of observations on a particular biological

event, therefore, does not give any insights into how the event works in biological system to achieve a specific

biological purpose. In our body or cells, huge number of biological events happen simultaneously and they eventually

make the things done appropriately; otherwise we cannot live. In other words, biological regulation occurs in a

stochastic manner. I have been interested in how the stochastic regulation becomes possible in biological system from

the molecular level points of view. In the presentation, I will give you some ideas for the molecular basis to allow the

stochastic regulation revealed with physical and mathematical ideas and tools, by showing some of the examples gained

 in our interdisciplinary research activities.