We apply single molecule techniques such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer, atomic force microscopy and optical tweezers, we study enzyme activity, and protein and RNA folding at the single bio-molecule level. Systems being studied include how the ribosome reads m-RNA and manufactures proteins, how vesicles fuse into the cell wall at the synapse of neurons, how cells adhere to each other via adhesive molecules, and how RNA molecules fold into active enzymes.If you want to hear Chu talk about his biological physics research, watch this video on YouTube.
- Zhuang XW, Bartley LE, Babcock HP, Russell R, Ha TJ, Herschlag D, Chu S (2000) “A Single-Molecule Study of RNA Catalysis and Folding,” Science, Volume 288, Pages 2048–2051.
- Zhuang XW, Kim H, Pereira MJB, Babcock HP, Walter NG, Chu S (2002) “Correlating structural dynamics and function in single ribozyme molecules,” Science, Volume 296, Pages 1473–1476.
- Ha T, Rasnik I, Cheng W, Babcock HP, Gauss GH, Lohman TM, Chu S (2002) “Initiation and re-initiation of DNA unwinding by the Escherichia coli Rep helicase,” Nature, Volume 419, Pages 638–641.
- Blanchard SC, Gonzalez RL, Kim HD, Chu S, Puglisi JD (2004) “tRNA selection and kinetic proofreading in translation,” Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, Volume 11, Pages 1008–1014.
....Oh, did I forget to mention something? Chu is best known for his work on the “development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light,” for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997. He is currently Secretary of Energy in the Obama administration, and is leading the US effort to move away from fossil fuels and toward alternative energy sources, thereby combating global warming.
Who says we don’t have wonderful role models anymore?