Helen Greenwood Hansma | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Biologist, biophysicist, biochemist, and academic |
Academic background | |
Education | B.S. in Chemistry M.S. in Biochemistry PhD in Biological Sciences |
Alma mater | Earlham College University of California, Berkeley University of California, Santa Barbara |
Thesis | Biochemical Studies on the Behavioral Mutants of Paramecium aurelia: Ion Fluxes and Ciliary Membrane Proteins (1974) |
Doctoral advisor | Ching Kung |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of California,Santa Barbara UCLA [post doc] |
Helen Greenwood Hansma is an American biologist,biophysicist,biochemist,and academic. She is a Researcher Emeritus and Associate Adjunct Professor Emeritus at the University of California,Santa Barbara. [1] [2]
Hansma's research revolves around understanding the origin of life and proposes that life originated between mica sheets in micaceous clay. [3] She has contributed to the fields of biophysics and biochemistry through her work on biomolecular materials,DNA-protein interactions,and the applications of Atomic Force Microscopy to biological materials.
Hansma earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Earlham College in 1967,researching zinc-azine coordination compounds with William Stratton. Then she obtained a master's degree in biochemistry at the University of California,Berkeley,under the supervision of H. A. Barker. Her 1969 thesis was titled "Separation of Basic Amino Acids and Resolution of D and L Isomers by Gas Liquid Chromatography." She then did research in the UC Berkeley Nutrition Department on cholesterol-fed guinea pigs in the lab of Rosemarie Ostwald.[ citation needed ] In 1972,she enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Biological Sciences at the University of California,Santa Barbara,where she studied behavioral mutants of Paramecium aurelia. Her research explored ion fluxes and ciliary membrane proteins in the lab of Ching Kung. Her thesis was titled "Biochemical Studies on the Behavioral Mutants of Paramecium aurelia:Ion Fluxes and Ciliary Membrane Proteins". [4]
In 1977,Hansma started her academic career as an Assistant Research Biologist at the University of California,Santa Barbara,where she worked as the Principal Investigator of "The Molecular Mechanism of Membrane Excitation in Paramecium". She then held appointments as Science Consultant at Isla Vista School from 1981 to 1988 and at the University of California,Santa Barbara,starting in 1987 as an Assistant Research Biochemist in the Department of Physics. She was promoted to Associate Research Biochemist in 1993. In addition to her research appointments,she also served as an Adjunct Associate Professor at UCSB from 1998 to 2004. From 2004 to 2008 she was a Program Manager at the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences–Division of Biological Infrastructure (BIO-DBI). [5] Since 2008,she has held the positions of Researcher Emeritus and Associate Adjunct Professor Emeritus at the University of California,Santa Barbara. [6] [7]
Hansma's research interests span the fields of biophysics and biochemistry. Working with Paul Hansma in the Physics Department,she applied Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to study biomolecules. She was the Principal Investigator of NSF grants from 1991 to 1994, [8] 1994–1997,1997–2000 and 2000–2003. [9] She has conducted research on imaging and manipulating molecules on mica surfaces using AFM. [10] Since 2007,her major area of research is the origin of life. She hypothesizes that life originated between mica sheets and that the mechanical energy of mica sheets,moving apart and together,might have provided energy before chemical energy was available. [11]
Hansma has worked on the applying AFM of DNA to illustrate its structure, [12] its surface biology, [13] its motion, [14] and its condensation. [15] [16] She described advances in AFM of DNA [17] and the benefits of using an aqueous solution for the imaging of DNA with AFM. [15] She then investigated the adsorption of DNA to various substrates using AFM and showed that the presence of a divalent cation greatly improves DNA adsorption,which requires electrostatic adsorption to the surface. [18] In related research,she used AFM to image small fragments of DNA that have been labeled with a chimeric protein fusion between streptavidin and two immunoglobulin G-binding domains of staphylococcal protein A. [19] While analyzing the efficacy of different modes of AFM she highlighted that the resolution is best in propanol while tapping AFM in dry helium provides a convenient way of imaging conformations of DNA molecules and positions of proteins on DNA. In an aqueous buffer,DNA molecules as small as 300 bp have been imaged even when in motion. [20] She found that the binding of DNA to mica is correlated with the radius of the transition metal cation. [21]
Hansma also examined the potential applications of atomic force microscopy (AFM) of DNA to the human genome project and stated that the AFM is capable of imaging DNA reproducibly but is not capable of sequencing DNA without further improvements. [22] Additionally,she has worked on the AFM of lipids and showed its usefulness in imaging biological processes. [23] She has also studied lipid membranes and showed that AFM was capable of visualizing the defects in the lipid bilayers. [24]
Near the turn of the millennium,Hansma's research included the AFM of spider silks [25] and bacterial biofilms. She evaluated the use of atomic force microscopy and single-molecule force spectroscopy to study the structure of spider dragline silk [26] and demonstrated its modular sacrificial bonds that contribute to its strength and toughness. [27] Using an artificial silk protein provided by researchers from the U.S. Army Natick R&D Center,she then presented models for molecular and supramolecular structures of the protein,derived from amino acid sequences,force spectroscopy,and stretching of bulk capture web. [28] Furthermore,with Patricia Holden and members of her lab,she analyzed the surface properties and physical morphology of Pseudomonas putida biofilms [29] and investigated how biofilm bacteria adapt to low nutrient availability in unsaturated environments. [30]
Hansma is also known for her work on mica sheets and the origin of life. [31] In her paper,"Possible origin of life between mica sheets:does life imitate mica?" she explored various elements that support her hypothesis regarding the origin of life between mica sheets. She noted that these sheets provide stable compartments,mechanical energy for bond formation,and isolation needed for Darwinian evolution. Moving mica sheets have the ability to facilitate mechanochemistry,resulting in the synthesis of prebiotic organic molecules. [32] [33] She highlighted key resemblances between life and the hypothetical origin between mica sheets. [34] In 2014,she suggested that the likelihood of life's emergence increases with an increase in molecular crowding,and the confined spaces between Muscovite mica sheets provide advantages for the origins of life. [35]
Later,in 2017,Hansma proposed that membraneless organelles,or biomolecular condensates,may have existed prior to the emergence of membrane-bound structures during the origins of life. These biomolecular condensates typically contain RNA and protein and could have formed and sheltered in the interstitial spaces between mica sheets,which offer favorable conditions for the origin and development of life. [36] During her research on the origin of life,she discussed the prevalence of mechanical forces and mechanical energy in living cells and suggested that these may have preceded chemical energy at life's origins. [37] [38]
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms,including catalysing metabolic reactions,DNA replication,responding to stimuli,providing structure to cells and organisms,and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids,which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes,and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity.
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization,from molecular to organismic and populations. Biophysical research shares significant overlap with biochemistry,molecular biology,physical chemistry,physiology,nanotechnology,bioengineering,computational biology,biomechanics,developmental biology and systems biology.
Force spectroscopy is a set of techniques for the study of the interactions and the binding forces between individual molecules. These methods can be used to measure the mechanical properties of single polymer molecules or proteins,or individual chemical bonds. The name "force spectroscopy",although widely used in the scientific community,is somewhat misleading,because there is no true matter-radiation interaction.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM),with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer,more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit.
Bacteriorhodopsin (Bop) is a protein used by Archaea,most notably by haloarchaea,a class of the Euryarchaeota. It acts as a proton pump;that is,it captures light energy and uses it to move protons across the membrane out of the cell. The resulting proton gradient is subsequently converted into chemical energy.
The plasma membranes of cells contain combinations of glycosphingolipids,cholesterol and protein receptors organised in glycolipoprotein lipid microdomains termed lipid rafts. Their existence in cellular membranes remains controversial. Indeed,Kervin and Overduin imply that lipid rafts are misconstrued protein islands,which they propose form through a proteolipid code. Nonetheless,it has been proposed that they are specialized membrane microdomains which compartmentalize cellular processes by serving as organising centers for the assembly of signaling molecules,allowing a closer interaction of protein receptors and their effectors to promote kinetically favorable interactions necessary for the signal transduction. Lipid rafts influence membrane fluidity and membrane protein trafficking,thereby regulating neurotransmission and receptor trafficking. Lipid rafts are more ordered and tightly packed than the surrounding bilayer,but float freely within the membrane bilayer. Although more common in the cell membrane,lipid rafts have also been reported in other parts of the cell,such as the Golgi apparatus and lysosomes.
Biomolecular structure is the intricate folded,three-dimensional shape that is formed by a molecule of protein,DNA,or RNA,and that is important to its function. The structure of these molecules may be considered at any of several length scales ranging from the level of individual atoms to the relationships among entire protein subunits. This useful distinction among scales is often expressed as a decomposition of molecular structure into four levels:primary,secondary,tertiary,and quaternary. The scaffold for this multiscale organization of the molecule arises at the secondary level,where the fundamental structural elements are the molecule's various hydrogen bonds. This leads to several recognizable domains of protein structure and nucleic acid structure,including such secondary-structure features as alpha helixes and beta sheets for proteins,and hairpin loops,bulges,and internal loops for nucleic acids. The terms primary,secondary,tertiary,and quaternary structure were introduced by Kaj Ulrik Linderstrøm-Lang in his 1951 Lane Medical Lectures at Stanford University.
Scanning ion-conductance microscopy (SICM) is a scanning probe microscopy technique that uses an electrode as the probe tip. SICM allows for the determination of the surface topography of micrometer and even nanometer-range structures in aqueous media conducting electrolytes. The samples can be hard or soft,are generally non-conducting,and the non-destructive nature of the measurement allows for the observation of living tissues and cells,and biological samples in general.
Molecular biophysics is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary area of research that combines concepts in physics,chemistry,engineering,mathematics and biology. It seeks to understand biomolecular systems and explain biological function in terms of molecular structure,structural organization,and dynamic behaviour at various levels of complexity. This discipline covers topics such as the measurement of molecular forces,molecular associations,allosteric interactions,Brownian motion,and cable theory. Additional areas of study can be found on Outline of Biophysics. The discipline has required development of specialized equipment and procedures capable of imaging and manipulating minute living structures,as well as novel experimental approaches.
In chemistry and materials science,molecular self-assembly is the process by which molecules adopt a defined arrangement without guidance or management from an outside source. There are two types of self-assembly:intermolecular and intramolecular. Commonly,the term molecular self-assembly refers to the former,while the latter is more commonly called folding.
Photothermal microspectroscopy (PTMS),alternatively known as photothermal temperature fluctuation (PTTF),is derived from two parent instrumental techniques:infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In one particular type of AFM,known as scanning thermal microscopy (SThM),the imaging probe is a sub-miniature temperature sensor,which may be a thermocouple or a resistance thermometer. This same type of detector is employed in a PTMS instrument,enabling it to provide AFM/SThM images:However,the chief additional use of PTMS is to yield infrared spectra from sample regions below a micrometer,as outlined below.
Helen Miriam Berman is a Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University and a former director of the RCSB Protein Data Bank. A structural biologist,her work includes structural analysis of protein-nucleic acid complexes,and the role of water in molecular interactions. She is also the founder and director of the Nucleic Acid Database,and led the Protein Structure Initiative Structural Genomics Knowledgebase.
Single-particle tracking (SPT) is the observation of the motion of individual particles within a medium. The coordinates time series,which can be either in two dimensions (x,y) or in three dimensions (x,y,z),is referred to as a trajectory. The trajectory is typically analyzed using statistical methods to extract information about the underlying dynamics of the particle. These dynamics can reveal information about the type of transport being observed (e.g.,thermal or active),the medium where the particle is moving,and interactions with other particles. In the case of random motion,trajectory analysis can be used to measure the diffusion coefficient.
A model lipid bilayer is any bilayer assembled in vitro,as opposed to the bilayer of natural cell membranes or covering various sub-cellular structures like the nucleus. They are used to study the fundamental properties of biological membranes in a simplified and well-controlled environment,and increasingly in bottom-up synthetic biology for the construction of artificial cells. A model bilayer can be made with either synthetic or natural lipids. The simplest model systems contain only a single pure synthetic lipid. More physiologically relevant model bilayers can be made with mixtures of several synthetic or natural lipids.
NanoWorld is the global market leader for tips for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The atomic force microscope (AFM) is the defining instrument for the whole field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. It enables its users in research and high-tech industry to investigate materials at the atomic scale. AFM probes are the key consumable,the “finger”that enables the scientist to scan surfaces point-by-point at the atomic scale. Consistent high quality of the scanning probes is vital for reproducible results.
NanoAndMore is a distributor for AFM cantilevers from NanoWorld,Nanosensors,BudgetSensors,MikroMasch,Opus and nanotools,calibration standards and other products for nanotechnology.
In molecular biology,the term macromolecular assembly (MA) refers to massive chemical structures such as viruses and non-biologic nanoparticles,cellular organelles and membranes and ribosomes,etc. that are complex mixtures of polypeptide,polynucleotide,polysaccharide or other polymeric macromolecules. They are generally of more than one of these types,and the mixtures are defined spatially,and with regard to their underlying chemical composition and structure. Macromolecules are found in living and nonliving things,and are composed of many hundreds or thousands of atoms held together by covalent bonds;they are often characterized by repeating units. Assemblies of these can likewise be biologic or non-biologic,though the MA term is more commonly applied in biology,and the term supramolecular assembly is more often applied in non-biologic contexts. MAs of macromolecules are held in their defined forms by non-covalent intermolecular interactions,and can be in either non-repeating structures,or in repeating linear,circular,spiral,or other patterns. The process by which MAs are formed has been termed molecular self-assembly,a term especially applied in non-biologic contexts. A wide variety of physical/biophysical,chemical/biochemical,and computational methods exist for the study of MA;given the scale of MAs,efforts to elaborate their composition and structure and discern mechanisms underlying their functions are at the forefront of modern structure science.
Paul K. Hansma is an American physicist at the University of California,Santa Barbara.
Mei Hong is a Chinese-American biophysical chemist and professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is known for her creative development and application of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy to elucidate the structures and mechanisms of membrane proteins,plant cell walls,and amyloid proteins. She has received a number of recognitions for her work,including the American Chemical Society Nakanishi Prize in 2021,Günther Laukien Prize in 2014,the Protein Society Young Investigator award in 2012,and the American Chemical Society’s Pure Chemistry award in 2003.
Robert William Carpick is a Canadian mechanical engineer. He is currently director of diversity,equity,and inclusion and John Henry Towne Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania. He is best known for his work in tribology,particularly nanotribology.
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