V AROUND THE INSTITUTE
Harnessing
Microscopic Motors Scientists consider motors at the smallest scale
BEYOND THE MACHINE
by Courtney Humphries
Most of us think of motors as artificial parts that power cars and equipment, but life runs on motors too. Essentially, motors are things that make movement possible. They include not only machines that convert electric energy into motion, but also the tiny proteins in cells that help muscles contract or shuttle microscopic cargo from place to place. A symposium at the Radcliffe Institute titled “Molecules, Movement, and Motors” brought together researchers in biology, medicine, physics, and engineering to discuss motors at the smallest scale. The talks, which took place October 14 at the Radcliffe Gymnasium, revealed how motors function in living organisms, 2
ra dcl iffe ma ga zi ne Winter 2012
Ayusman Sen
“You can, in principle, take any chemical reaction and use it to move things.”
Anna C. Balazs
Anna Balazs has designed artificial worms that move through narrow spaces in response to light.