DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Biophysics at the coffee shop: lessons learned working with George Oster

Abstract

Over the past 50 years, the use of mathematical models, derived from physical reasoning, to describe molecular and cellular systems has evolved from an art of the few to a cornerstone of biological inquiry. George Oster stood out as a pioneer of this paradigm shift from descriptive to quantitative biology not only through his numerous research accomplishments, but also through the many students and postdocs he mentored over his long career. Those of us fortunate enough to have worked with George agree that his sharp intellect, physical intuition, and passion for scientific inquiry not only inspired us as scientists but also greatly influenced the way we conduct research. We would like to share a few important lessons we learned from George in honor of his memory and with the hope that they may inspire future generations of scientists.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11];  [12];
  1. Rice University, Houston, TX (United States). Departments of Bioengineering, Biosciences, and Chemistry and Center for Theoretical Biological Physics
  2. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Biological Sciences
  3. Univ. of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (United States). Dept. of Computational and Systems Biology and UPMC-Hillman Cancer Center, School of Medicine
  4. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). Dept. of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine
  5. Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC (United States). Dept. of Pharmacology, School of Medicine
  6. Univ. of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (United States). Cardiovascular Research Institute, School of Pharmacy
  7. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  8. Rockefeller University, New York, NY (United States). Center for Studies in Physics and Biology
  9. Univ. of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  10. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering
  11. Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA (United States). Dept. of Applied Mathematics and Statistics
  12. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States). Dept. of Physics and Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Science Foundation (NSF); Johns Hopkins University
OSTI Identifier:
1625251
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1839873
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-788697
Journal ID: ISSN 1059-1524
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-07NA27344; MCB-1616755; DMS-1462049
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 30; Journal Issue: 16; Journal ID: ISSN 1059-1524
Publisher:
American Society for Cell Biology
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Cell biology

Citation Formats

Igoshin, Oleg A., Chen, Jing, Xing, Jianhua, Liu, Jian, Elston, Timothy C., Grabe, Michael, Kim, Kenneth S., Nirody, Jasmine A., Rangamani, Padmini, Sun, Sean X., Wang, Hongyun, Wolgemuth, Charles, and Mogilner, Alex. Biophysics at the coffee shop: lessons learned working with George Oster. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1091/mbc.e19-02-0107.
Igoshin, Oleg A., Chen, Jing, Xing, Jianhua, Liu, Jian, Elston, Timothy C., Grabe, Michael, Kim, Kenneth S., Nirody, Jasmine A., Rangamani, Padmini, Sun, Sean X., Wang, Hongyun, Wolgemuth, Charles, & Mogilner, Alex. Biophysics at the coffee shop: lessons learned working with George Oster. United States. https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e19-02-0107
Igoshin, Oleg A., Chen, Jing, Xing, Jianhua, Liu, Jian, Elston, Timothy C., Grabe, Michael, Kim, Kenneth S., Nirody, Jasmine A., Rangamani, Padmini, Sun, Sean X., Wang, Hongyun, Wolgemuth, Charles, and Mogilner, Alex. Mon . "Biophysics at the coffee shop: lessons learned working with George Oster". United States. https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e19-02-0107. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1625251.
@article{osti_1625251,
title = {Biophysics at the coffee shop: lessons learned working with George Oster},
author = {Igoshin, Oleg A. and Chen, Jing and Xing, Jianhua and Liu, Jian and Elston, Timothy C. and Grabe, Michael and Kim, Kenneth S. and Nirody, Jasmine A. and Rangamani, Padmini and Sun, Sean X. and Wang, Hongyun and Wolgemuth, Charles and Mogilner, Alex},
abstractNote = {Over the past 50 years, the use of mathematical models, derived from physical reasoning, to describe molecular and cellular systems has evolved from an art of the few to a cornerstone of biological inquiry. George Oster stood out as a pioneer of this paradigm shift from descriptive to quantitative biology not only through his numerous research accomplishments, but also through the many students and postdocs he mentored over his long career. Those of us fortunate enough to have worked with George agree that his sharp intellect, physical intuition, and passion for scientific inquiry not only inspired us as scientists but also greatly influenced the way we conduct research. We would like to share a few important lessons we learned from George in honor of his memory and with the hope that they may inspire future generations of scientists.},
doi = {10.1091/mbc.e19-02-0107},
journal = {Molecular Biology of the Cell},
number = 16,
volume = 30,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Mon Jul 22 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}

Works referenced in this record:

Protein Interactions and Membrane Geometry
journal, February 2003


Experimentalist Meets Theoretician: A Tale of Two Scientific Cultures
journal, July 2010


Design principles for robust vesiculation in clathrin-mediated endocytosis
journal, January 2017

  • Hassinger, Julian E.; Oster, George; Drubin, David G.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 114, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1617705114

DNM1, a dynamin-related gene, participates in endosomal trafficking in yeast.
journal, August 1995

  • Gammie, A. E.; Kurihara, L. J.; Vallee, R. B.
  • Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 130, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1083/jcb.130.3.553

The Mechanochemistry of Endocytosis
journal, September 2009


Torque Generation by the Fo motor of the Sodium ATPase
journal, October 2004


Notch signalling and the synchronization of the somite segmentation clock
journal, November 2000

  • Jiang, Yun-Jin; Aerne, Birgit L.; Smithers, Lucy
  • Nature, Vol. 408, Issue 6811
  • DOI: 10.1038/35044091

Pattern formation and traveling waves in myxobacteria: Theory and modeling
journal, December 2001

  • Igoshin, O. A.; Mogilner, A.; Welch, R. D.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 98, Issue 26
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.221579598

Developmental waves in myxobacteria: A distinctive pattern formation mechanism
journal, October 2004


Protein turbines. I: The bacterial flagellar motor
journal, August 1997


The Rotary Motor of Bacterial Flagella
journal, June 2003


How Myxobacteria Glide
journal, March 2002


The neural origins of shell structure and pattern in aquatic mollusks
journal, April 2009

  • Boettiger, A.; Ermentrout, B.; Oster, G.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 106, Issue 16
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0810311106

Accordion waves in Myxococcus xanthus
journal, January 2006

  • Sliusarenko, O.; Neu, J.; Zusman, D. R.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 103, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0507720103

Torque-speed relationship of the bacterial flagellar motor
journal, January 2006

  • Xing, J.; Bai, F.; Berry, R.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 103, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0507959103

Minimal energy foldings of eukaryotic mRNAs form a separate leader domain
journal, July 1987


A model for pattern formation on the shells of molluscs
journal, May 1987


Curvature-Mediated Interactions Between Membrane Proteins
journal, November 1998


The Limiting Speed of the Bacterial Flagellar Motor
journal, August 2016


Myxobacteria gliding motility requires cytoskeleton rotation powered by proton motive force
journal, January 2011

  • Nan, B.; Chen, J.; Neu, J. C.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 108, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1018556108

The prehistory of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky oscillator
journal, August 1984

  • Winfree, A. T.
  • Journal of Chemical Education, Vol. 61, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1021/ed061p661

The Mechanistic Basis of Myxococcus xanthus Rippling Behavior and Its Physiological Role during Predation
journal, September 2012


Vesicle formation in the Golgi apparatus
journal, December 1989


Induction of coordinated movement of Myxococcus xanthus cells
journal, October 1982


The Motors Powering A-Motility in Myxococcus xanthus Are Distributed along the Cell Body
journal, August 2007

  • Sliusarenko, Oleksii; Zusman, David R.; Oster, George
  • Journal of Bacteriology, Vol. 189, Issue 21
  • DOI: 10.1128/JB.00923-07

Design principles for robust vesiculation in clathrin-mediated endocytosis
journal, January 2017

  • Hassinger, Julian E.; Oster, George; Drubin, David G.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 114, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1617705114

A clock and wavefront mechanism for somite formation
journal, May 2006


Energy transduction in the sodium F-ATPase of Propionigenium modestum
journal, April 1999

  • Dimroth, P.; Wang, H.; Grabe, M.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 96, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.96.9.4924

Pattern formation and traveling waves in myxobacteria: Theory and modeling
journal, December 2001

  • Igoshin, O. A.; Mogilner, A.; Welch, R. D.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 98, Issue 26
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.221579598

Experimentalist Meets Theoretician: A Tale of Two Scientific Cultures
journal, July 2010


Motor-Substrate Interactions in Mycoplasma Motility Explains Non-Arrhenius Temperature Dependence
journal, December 2009


The cell surface-associated intercellular C-signal induces behavioral changes in individual Myxococcus xanthus cells during fruiting body morphogenesis
journal, April 1999

  • Jelsbak, L.; Sogaard-Andersen, L.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 96, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.96.9.5031

Motor-Substrate Interactions in Mycoplasma Motility Explains Non-Arrhenius Temperature Dependence
journal, December 2009


The cell surface-associated intercellular C-signal induces behavioral changes in individual Myxococcus xanthus cells during fruiting body morphogenesis
journal, April 1999

  • Jelsbak, L.; Sogaard-Andersen, L.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 96, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.96.9.5031

Small scale membrane mechanics
journal, October 2013

  • Rangamani, Padmini; Benjamini, Ayelet; Agrawal, Ashutosh
  • Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, Vol. 13, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10237-013-0528-6

Mechanics of post-fusion exocytotic vesicle
journal, May 2017


Small scale membrane mechanics
journal, October 2013

  • Rangamani, Padmini; Benjamini, Ayelet; Agrawal, Ashutosh
  • Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, Vol. 13, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10237-013-0528-6

Mechanics of post-fusion exocytotic vesicle
journal, May 2017


Effect of protein shape on multibody interactions between membrane inclusions
journal, April 2000


Cell behavior in traveling wave patterns of myxobacteria
journal, December 2001

  • Welch, R.; Kaiser, D.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 98, Issue 26
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.261574598

Energy transduction in ATP synthase
journal, January 1998

  • Elston, Timothy; Wang, Hongyun; Oster, George
  • Nature, Vol. 391, Issue 6666
  • DOI: 10.1038/35185

Endocytic vesicle scission by lipid phase boundary forces
journal, June 2006

  • Liu, J.; Kaksonen, M.; Drubin, D. G.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 103, Issue 27
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0601045103

A clock and wavefront mechanism for somite formation
journal, May 2006


The mechanism of force transmission at bacterial focal adhesion complexes
journal, October 2016

  • Faure, Laura M.; Fiche, Jean-Bernard; Espinosa, Leon
  • Nature, Vol. 539, Issue 7630
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature20121

The Mechanistic Basis of Myxococcus xanthus Rippling Behavior and Its Physiological Role during Predation
journal, September 2012


The neural origins of shell structure and pattern in aquatic mollusks
journal, April 2009

  • Boettiger, A.; Ermentrout, B.; Oster, G.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 106, Issue 16
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0810311106

Mechanics of torque generation in the bacterial flagellar motor
journal, July 2015

  • Mandadapu, Kranthi K.; Nirody, Jasmine A.; Berry, Richard M.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 112, Issue 32
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1501734112

Torque-speed relationship of the bacterial flagellar motor
journal, January 2006

  • Xing, J.; Bai, F.; Berry, R.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 103, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0507959103

Accordion waves in Myxococcus xanthus
journal, January 2006

  • Sliusarenko, O.; Neu, J.; Zusman, D. R.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 103, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0507720103

Mechanics of torque generation in the bacterial flagellar motor
journal, July 2015

  • Mandadapu, Kranthi K.; Nirody, Jasmine A.; Berry, Richard M.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 112, Issue 32
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1501734112

The Rotary Motor of Bacterial Flagella
journal, June 2003


Golgi and vacuolar membrane proteins reach the vacuole in vps1 mutant yeast cells via the plasma membrane.
journal, April 1995

  • Nothwehr, S. F.; Conibear, E.; Stevens, T. H.
  • Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 129, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1083/jcb.129.1.35

A quantitative description of membrane current and its application to conduction and excitation in nerve
journal, August 1952


Myxobacteria gliding motility requires cytoskeleton rotation powered by proton motive force
journal, January 2011

  • Nan, B.; Chen, J.; Neu, J. C.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 108, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1018556108

The Limiting Speed of the Bacterial Flagellar Motor
journal, August 2016


Integrated view of resetting a circadian clock
journal, September 1970


Notch signalling and the synchronization of the somite segmentation clock
journal, November 2000

  • Jiang, Yun-Jin; Aerne, Birgit L.; Smithers, Lucy
  • Nature, Vol. 408, Issue 6811
  • DOI: 10.1038/35044091

Muscle as a Machine
journal, March 1954


Cell behavior in traveling wave patterns of myxobacteria
journal, December 2001

  • Welch, R.; Kaiser, D.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 98, Issue 26
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.261574598

Torque Generation by the Fo motor of the Sodium ATPase
journal, October 2004


Energy transduction in ATP synthase
journal, January 1998

  • Elston, Timothy; Wang, Hongyun; Oster, George
  • Nature, Vol. 391, Issue 6666
  • DOI: 10.1038/35185

The prehistory of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky oscillator
journal, August 1984

  • Winfree, A. T.
  • Journal of Chemical Education, Vol. 61, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1021/ed061p661

Wrapping Our Heads around Endocytosis
journal, September 2009


ATP synthase and other motor proteins
journal, April 1999

  • Junge, Wolfgang
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 96, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.96.9.4735

DNM1, a dynamin-related gene, participates in endosomal trafficking in yeast.
journal, August 1995

  • Gammie, A. E.; Kurihara, L. J.; Vallee, R. B.
  • Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 130, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1083/jcb.130.3.553

Compliance of bacterial flagella measured with optical tweezers
journal, April 1989

  • Block, Steven M.; Blair, David F.; Berg, Howard C.
  • Nature, Vol. 338, Issue 6215
  • DOI: 10.1038/338514a0

The mechanism of force transmission at bacterial focal adhesion complexes
journal, October 2016

  • Faure, Laura M.; Fiche, Jean-Bernard; Espinosa, Leon
  • Nature, Vol. 539, Issue 7630
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature20121

Endocytic vesicle scission by lipid phase boundary forces
journal, June 2006

  • Liu, J.; Kaksonen, M.; Drubin, D. G.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 103, Issue 27
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0601045103

Induction of coordinated movement of Myxococcus xanthus cells
journal, October 1982