University of Helsinki
Our fourth colloquium again features a new professor giving a first talk to their peers in Kumpula. On 13th April Ilpo Vattulainen will speak about his work and how it connects physics to the life sciences, in a talk titled A physicist’s random walk in the life sciences.
Here is his abstract:
We have five primitive needs: food, warmth, security, pleasure, and health. In this colloquium, we will discuss how physical sciences can reveal secrets related to health. Quite surprisingly it appears that we know quite little about biological structures and phenomena that maintain our health, yet we often take them for granted. Our skin protects us from forbidden substances, however its structure is still a genuine mystery. The surface of our eyes protects us from the dry eye syndrome, but we do not understand how. The beating of our heart keeps us alive, yet we do not fully understand how the signaling in our cells controls the beat. Given how fascinating it is to examine these challenges, it is a true privilege to be a physicist: the toolbox of physics provides the means to reveal the principles and mechanisms that nature uses to maintain life and foster our health.
After the 30 minute talk, there will be a cocktail reception. Welcome!
Update 25.4.2018: You can watch a video of Ilpo’s talk here: