Biophysical Society Newsletter | January 2017

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BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 9
JANUARY 2017
BJ Paper of the Year Award
The Biophysical Journal Paper
of the Year Award recognizes an
outstanding paper by a young
investigator. This year's win-
ning paper is Dynamics of Mouth
Opening in Hydra from the labo-
ratory of Eva-Maria S. Collins
at University of California, San
Diego. It is an elegant piece of biophysics that uses
transgenic strains of this small multicellular animal
expressing fluorescent proteins in specific classes
of cells. The Collins lab studies the mechanics of
the feeding process, whereby the Hydra rips open
a hole in its epithelium to create an on-demand
mouth. The hole can be larger than the size of
the entire animal and is produced in less than one
minute, much faster than might be expected from
cell rearrangements commonly observed during
developmental processes. Indeed, Collins and her
colleagues show that forces produced by contactile
cells are sufficient to break junctions between epi-
thelial cells to rapidly produce the hole. As pointed
out by Alex Dunn his New and Notable piece
about this paper, the work exemplifies how the
right model system and simple physics might help
us understand seemingly complex biology such
as tissue morphogenesis. Also, the cool movies
of Hydra mouth opening generated lots of interest
in the lay press.
Collins will receive the award, which consists of
a plaque and $1,000, and will give a short talk at
the Awards Symposium during the Biophysical
Society Annual Meeting on February 14 in New
Orleans.
Eva-Maria S.
Collins
Biophysics Week is a global effort aimed at encouraging connec-
tions within the biophysics community and raising awareness of
the field and its impact among the general public, policy makers,
students, and scientists in related fields.
Keep an eye out for the schedule in the February newsletter and
on the website. There will be daily activities, news, publications,
blogs, fun facts, and more.
Visit for updates
and to learn how you can get involved!
Biophysical Society To submit, visit
Brain Biophysics
Biophysical Journal
Call for Papers
For publication November 2017
Deadline for submission: May 1, 2017