Energy landscape and dynamics of biomolecules extended abstract

Noncovalent attractions are associations within and between molecules that influence the shape and structural stability of complexes. These interactions differ from covalent bonding in that they do not involve sharing of electrons.
Four types of noncovalent interactions are hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions.
Hydrogen bonding results from the electrostatic attraction of a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to a strong-electronegative atom like oxygen,...

Noncovalent attractions are associations within and between molecules that influence the shape and structural stability of complexes. These interactions differ from covalent bonding in that they do not involve sharing of electrons.
Four types of noncovalent interactions are hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions.
Hydrogen bonding results from the electrostatic attraction of a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to a strong-electronegative atom like oxygen,...

The process of surrounding a solute with solvent is called solvation. It involves evenly distributing the solute within the solvent. The rule of thumb for determining a solvent for a given compound is that like dissolves like. A good solvent has molecular characteristics similar to those of the compound to be dissolved. For example, polar solutions dissolve polar solutes, and apolar solvents dissolve apolar solutes. A polar solvent is a solvent that has a high dielectric constant (ϵ ≥ 15); an...

Different fluorescence-based techniques are used to study the protein dynamics in living cells. These techniques include FRAP, FRET, and PET.
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...

The formation of a solution is an example of a spontaneous process, which is a process that occurs under specified conditions without energy from some external source.
When the strengths of the intermolecular forces of attraction between solute and solvent species in a solution are no different than those present in the separated components, the solution is formed with no accompanying energy change. Formation of the solution requires the solute–solute and solvent–solvent electrostatic forces to...

Organisms must balance energy intake with the energy required for growth, maintenance and reproduction. These trade-offs result in a variety of survivorship and reproductive strategies, including semelparity and iteroparity. Semelparous species, like annual plants, have only one reproductive episode in their lifetimes and consequently have short lifespans. Iteroparous species, by contrast, have many reproductive events during their lifetimes but have relatively few offspring. These two...