A New Paradigm: Quantitative Cell Biology
Our Center combines experimental and computational skills to build time + 3D whole cell models (4DWCM). The models contain a quantitative description of the physical and chemical processes within cells and organelles and develop and extend experimental methods to measure cell structure, chemical composition, and sub-cellular dynamics.
Models will integrate information from 1) sub-cellular -omics and microscopy, 2) label-free IR imaging of metabolites, 3) cryo-electron tomography of cellular architecture, 4) describe fundamental biological processes from the coarse-grained to the all-atom levels, and 5) use super-intelligence and machine learning to analyze the cell behavior, biological data, improve imaging, and code development.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the tools we build, the data we generate, and the methods we develop are made freely available. We’re driving the state-of-the-art, and sharing all our techniques, methods, and findings with other researchers worldwide.
PNNL-QCB collaboration produces first 4D whole-cell model of a photosynthetic microbe
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory teamed up with QCB scientists to create the first 4D whole-cell model of how a photosynthetic microbe responds to changing light. According to PNNL, “[t]his knowledge could inspire biotechnology and biomanufacturing approaches that use microbes to produce fuels, chemicals, materials, and other products … [and] could be relevant for potential quantum technology applications.”
Shown at right is an image from a computer model of the photosynthetic marine microbe Prochlorococcus marinus MED4, built using detailed three-dimensional microscopy images and a modeled arrangement of its DNA. This reconstruction provides the starting point for simulations that help researchers understand how the cell’s internal organization influences its response to changing light.
Register now
for Illinois Biophysics Symposium
on November 18
Also accepting abstracts to present!
Biophysics combines biology with physics, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering to explore how living systems work. Biophysicists study everything from molecules and cells to the brain and immune system, using experiments, data, and technology to better understand life and solve biological problems.
Join us November 18 for the 6th Illinois Biophysics Symposium to learn more about biophysics research at Illinois and where this field can take your career. Speakers, poster session, lunch, fun activities, from 10 am – 4:15 pm at the Beckman Institute.
View the schedule and register to attend and/or present HERE. Abstracts due October 25, registration closes November 10.
Scientific Breakthrough!
Our scientists have created the most detailed computer simulation yet of a living cell’s life cycle — opening a new window into the fundamental processes that make life possible.
Read more.
Video at right: This video shows the entirety of a simulated cell’s life cycle from birth to division into two new daughter cells. This process takes roughly 2 hours for the real cells, but took us roughly 4-6 days to simulate on the computer. As the cell membrane (green cubes) grows and divides, molecules like ribosomes (yellow/purple) have to stay inside the cell and molecules like the sugar transporters (grey) need to stay in the cell membrane. The cell’s singular chromosome (blue) expands to occupy most of the cell in this minimal bacteria and replicates once per life cycle to form a new copy of the DNA (red) for the daughter cell.