Healing
people at the atomic level
In the future,
diagnosing disease will be possible with a tiny sample of cells, making
invasive surgery unnecessary. That breakthrough will only come, however,
when scientists successfully combine the field of nanotechnology—the
scaling down of existing technologies to molecular dimensions—with
microfluidics and systems biology, leading to better understanding of
biological organisms. James Heath, Gilloon Professor and professor of
chemistry, will study the issues in the next Watson lecture, “NanoSystems
Biology,” on Wednesday, January 14.
The merging
of recent advances in nanoscience and technology has exciting potential
for systems biology, but the experimental hurdles are daunting. In response
to the challenge, Caltech, UCLA, and the Institute for Systems Biology
in Seattle have formed the NanoSystems Biology Alliance. Heath will present
the project’s background and its early successes, as well as examine
problems remaining to be solved in the future.
The free
public lecture will begin at 8 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium, with first-come,
first-served seating available after 7:30. For more information, contact
Public Events at 1 (888) 2CALTECH, (626) 395-4652, or events@caltech.edu,
or visit www.events.caltech.edu.
Individuals with a disability can call 395-4688 (voice) or 395-3700 (TDD).
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