Invited:
LIFE UNDER TENSION: OPTICAL TWEEZERS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN THE LIFE SCIENCES

More than thirty years ago, Arthur Ashkin and colleagues demonstrated that highly focused laser beams can hold and apply forces on micron-sized objects. Since then, “optical tweezers” have become a versatile tool to address numerous biological problems. With nanometer spatial resolution, picoNewton force resolution, and millisecond time resolution, they have provided invaluable insight on questions ranging from the structure and mechanical properties of biopolymers, to the machine-like function of molecular motors. In this talk, I will introduce the basic principles and methodology involved in optical tweezers, and describe some examples for the use of optical tweezers to address fundamental questions in molecular biology.