 |
Puget Sound Section |
| American Institute of Chemical Engineers |
|
          
|
Date
Tuesday, January 13, 2004SpeakerGerald H. Pollack, Ph.D Gerald H. Pollack is currently Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington where he has been employed since 1968, after receiving his B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic and his Ph.D, in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He authored or co-authored five books dealing primarily with the molecular basis of muscle action. He has received numerous honors and awards, including an Honorary Doctorate at Ural University in Ekaterinburg, Russia, the Distinguished Lecturer Award of the American Biological Society, International Scientist of the Year (IBC), and two Distinguished Awards from the Society for Technical Communication. He has been named a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Heart Association, and the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences. His most recent book, entitled: Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life, has garnered him the highest Merit Award from the Society of Technical Communication. Gerald
H. Pollack, Dept. of Bioengineering 357962, University of Washington, Seattle WA
98195 ghp@u.washington.edu
ProgramCells, Gels and
the Engines of Life: A Fresh Paradigm for Cell Function The cytoplasm is broadly acknowledged to be a polymer gel. Textbook mechanisms nevertheless build on the presumption that it is an aqueous solution. Gels and aqueous solutions are quite different: Gels are polymer matrices to which water clings—that’s why the cracked egg feels gooey, and why gelatin dessert does not shrivel up despite 95% water content. The concept of a gel-like cytoplasm is replete with power. Partitioning of ions between the inside and outside of the cell is directly explainable from the cytoplasm’s gel-like character and the organization of its water molecules; such partitioning requires zero maintenance energy, unlike ion-pumping mechanisms. The cell’s electrical potential is also explainable: substantial potentials are measured in gels, as well as in cells stripped of their membrane. Gels also undergo phase-transition—transformation from one physical state to another. In so doing, they change volume, ion content, solvency, permeability, etc.—changes similar to those experienced by organelles within the functioning cell. The polymer-gel phase transition therefore has the potential to be a central paradigm for mediating many aspects of cell function. These ideas are explored in depth in a recent book (Pollack, “Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life,” 2001, www.ebnerandsons.com), and will be presented at the talk.
Schedule
Meeting
Location
(please do not contact the restaurant for reservations or cancellations)
Directions
From I-5 Northbound take Mercer Street Exit (a left lane exit).
From I-5 Southbound take Mercer Street Exit (a right lane exit). Get in right hand lane and turn right onto Fairview Ave. N. (follow Seattle Center signs). Turn left at the next stop light (Valley Street) and stay in the far right hand lane. At the next light turn right onto Westlake Ave. N. Follow along Westlake until the next stop light which is Highland Drive and turn right into the parking area of Harborside.
Menu1. Pan Seared Breast of Chicken in Marsala Cream with Local Wild Mushrooms 2. Smoked Salmon Ravioli with Dill Cilantro Pesto
Cost
NOTES
|
| webmaster: Bob Thomas |
