Biophysical Society Bulletin | July/August 2019

Publications

Know the Editor Ilya Levental

new questions about how different the biophysical properties of the two leaflets are, and how proteins might “feel” about being pushed and pulled differently at various locations in the membrane. And cholesterol asymmetry is the biggest mystery of all! Just last year, one group reported greater than 90 percent of cho- lesterol in the outer leaflet, while another claims 80 percent is on the inner leaflet. The most abundant lipid in the plasma membrane, and one that contributes massively to its struc- ture and function, and we have no clue where it really is! How exciting! What has been your biggest “aha” moment in science? When my postdoc Joseph Lorent showed me the beautiful cor- relation between the surface area of protein transmembrane domains and their affinity for ordered membrane domains. We had been searching for the structural determinants of raft affinity for several years and I was really starting to worry that we may not find them. We made more than 100 con- structs and all my hypotheses were wrong! Then he put all the data together and the correlation was so striking, and the explanation so simple, it just had to be right!

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA Editor, Membranes

Ilya Levental

What are you currently working on that excites you? Membrane asymmetry! It is an old story, but there are still so many questions. The fact that lipids are asymmetrically dis- tributed between the two leaflets of the bilayer is one of the first things students learn about cell membranes. But much of the existing knowledge stems from low-resolution (though impressively precise) studies in the 1970s. Now we know that mammalian membranes are composed of hundreds of different lipids, and my lab has made some efforts to mea- sure the asymmetry of all of these in order to define the actu- al lipid compositions of the leaflets. These efforts have raised

ViewAll Editors for the Biophysical Journal https:/www.cell.com/biophysj/editorial-board

The Biophysicist NOWACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS The Biophysicist is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to highlighting and nurturing biophysics education, and its schol- arship and development. This new, open access journal is accepting original manuscripts from the international science community and invites submissions from scientists and educators in biophysics and related disciplines. The articles focus on fundamental concepts and techniques used in biophysics education, as well as evidence-based pedagogical practice, accessible to individuals at all levels. This journal serves undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students and trainees, active researchers, and scholars of biophysics teaching and learning. Public outreach and K-12 education are also within the purview of this publication. Accepted articles will be published at no charge if submitted prior to January 1, 2020. Research Articles are invited in the following categories: • Novel Learning and Teaching Approaches Reports are invited in the following areas: • Biophysics and Related Disciplines • Biophysics in Society

• Laboratory and Computational Teaching Tools • Research-based Studies of Student Learning • Biophysics Learning Perspectives • Adapted Research Articles

• Student Forum • Book Reviews

For additional information about these article types, Instructions to Authors, and to submit, visit www.thebiophysicist.org.

July/August 2019

16

T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E B I O P H Y S I C A L S O C I E T Y