Research Interests:
Single Molecule Biophysics
Short Synopsis:
We are a molecular biophysics lab with a general emphasis in studying the role of mechanical forces in biology, and in particular in the function of the nucleic-acids processing machinery, using methods rooted in the physical sciences. We develop experimental setups capable of applying mechanical forces on biological molecules and complexes, and directly measure molecular movements as small as Angstroms, and we use these instruments to study the machine-like function of polymerases, helicases and translocases.
• T. Liu*, A. Kaplan*, C. Wickersham, J-D. Wen, L Lancaster, K. Fredrick, H. Noller, I. Tinoco and C. Bustamante, “Direct measurement of the mechanical work during translocation by the ribosome”, in preparation. (*) Equal contribution
• K. Aathavan*, A. T. Politzer*, A. Kaplan*, J. R. Moffitt*, Y. R. Chemla, S. Grimes, P. J. Jardine, D. L. Anderson, and C. Bustamante, “Substrate Interactions and Promiscuity in a Viral DNA Packaging Motor”, Nature 461, 669 (2009). (*) Equal contribution. PDF
• M. F. Andersen, A. Kaplan, T. Grünzweig, and N. Davidson, “Decay of Quantum Correlations in Atom Optics Billiards with Chaotic and Mixed Dynamics”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 104102 (2006).
• N. Davidson, A. Kaplan, M. F. Andersen, and T. Grunzweig, “Classical and quantum dynamics with ultra cold atoms in billiards”, in “Quantum Computer, Algorithms and Chaos”, Volume 162 International School of Physics Enrico Fermi, Edited by: G. Casati, D.L. Shepelyansky, P. Zoller and G. Benenti ( IOS Press, Amsterdam 2006).
• A. Kaplan, M. F. Andersen, T. Grünzweig, and N. Davidson, “Hyperfine spectroscopy of optically trapped atoms”, J. Opt. B: Quant. Semiclass. Opt. 7, R103 (2005).