An International Conference: Computational Mathematics

Institut Des Hautes Etudes Scientifques, Bures-Sur-Yvette

Investigators

Abstract

The investigator organizes an international conference at Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques to study folding and self-assembly of macromolecules. Self-organization of macromolecules is a fundamental question in molecular biology. How molecules fold plays a major role in their organization. The meeting fosters the creation of new tools by bringing together scientists from several domains to consider the problem from different perspectives. DNA is like a long zipper whose teeth are pairs of molecules, called base pairs, one molecule on each side of the zipper. Links between the base pairs close the zipper. The zipper is about six feet long in human DNA; to fit inside a cell, it coils up. It partially uncoils to expose sections --- genes --- that are read to produce an intermediate molecule, called messenger RNA. Ribosomes read the messenger RNA and produce a corresponding amino acid chain. The chain folds up spontaneously; this is a protein. Proteins in turn perform their functions by partially unfolding to interact with other folded macromolecules. Proteins, genes, and DNA all fold and unfold to do their work. So folding and self-assembly are central issues in molecular biology. A goal of the conference is to stimulate synergistic interchanges between different disciplines by bringing together biologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, and computer scientists to discuss these issues from different perspectives.