Biophysical Society Bulletin | October 2023

Publications

Know the Editor Hagen Hofmann

Editor’s Pick

Weizmann Institute of Science Associate Editor Biophysical Reports

Hagen Hofmann

What are you currently working on that excites you? We are working on a number of exciting topics. Our main goal is to understand a very special class of proteins called intrinsically disordered proteins. The vast number of biological functions these proteins perform is disproportionate to their inability to form structure. Why did evolution create these strange proteins? What advantage do they confer? And most importantly, how do they work? This is a fantastic playground for biophysicists. Biology, chemistry, and physics must go hand in hand to have any chance of understanding. Our advanced single-molecule technologies provide only a blurry window into the nanoworld of proteins. It is the combina tion with theory, simulations, and other methods that often makes the picture clearer. The greatest moments are when all the little pieces fall into place. What has been your most exciting discovery as a biophysicist? It is difficult to say, and I am naturally inclined to pick the most recent project, simply because it is the one I think about most often. The discovery that DNA can transmit molecular signals over long distances, like a wire, and that some bac teria use this transmission to switch phenotypes is certainly an exciting discovery, even if we do not yet understand how it works. But ask me again in a year’s time. The answer will probably be different.

Biophysical Journal Simulated dynamic cholesterol redistribution favors mem brane fusion pore constriction Andrew H. Beaven, Kayla Sapp, and Alexander J. Sodt “Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of com plex membrane fusion pores, the authors demonstrate that cholesterol is depleted in the pore neck because of the membrane thinning inherent to such pores. This observa tion directly addresses a contradiction of cholesterol: that it thickens bilayers yet favors the curvature of a leaflet that is thinned. The ramifications for membrane elasticity directly impact the mechanism for how sterols change the membrane forces that resist reshaping.”

Version of Record Published December 31, 2022 DOI: https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2022.12.024

Ticket to Ride, Admit One: Graduate School Application Panel November 1, 2023, 1:00 pm USA Eastern Time Thinking of graduate school? Join us for a panel discussion with current graduate students and faculty administrators to answer questions about applying for graduate programs, interviews, and graduate life.

The event is FREE to everyone, but registration is required. Register today at biophysics.org/webinars.

October 2023

6

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY