BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
7
JUNE
2014
and open to the research community. The paper
should describe what the CT does and how (eg:,
descriptions of new algorithms or theories that
are implemented by the software). The paper
should also describe how the CT can be applied
to biophysical problems, preferably with an
example. The CT paper is not intended to be a
user guide, which, together with any requisite
download instructions, should be available on
the authors’ website. These papers will be re-
viewed for the CT’s general usefulness to biophys-
ics research; reviewers will also be asked to test the
CT software or explore CT databases.
Those of us working on
BJ
have lots of ideas and
plans that are at various stages of development. For
example, be on the lookout for the newly designed
BJ
website, set to roll out as I write this. We are
also producing our first special issue, which will
focus on Quantitative Cell Biology; it is being
edited by Dave Piston, who is now accepting sub-
missions for review, with a target for publication
in November. We continue our commitment to
being responsive to both the needs of the growing
biophysics research community and to the oppor-
tunities that new publishing technologies and the
changes in our field present to us. And, we always
remain open to your ideas and suggestions.
—
Leslie Loew
, Editor-in-Chief
Know the Editors
Claudia Steinem
University of Göttingen
Editor in Membranes Section
Q:
What is your area of research?
My research interest is in membrane-confined
processes such as fusion and fission, ion transport
mediated by ion channels and protein pumps as
well as protein-lipid and protein-protein interac-
tions occurring at the membrane interface. To
understand these processes on a molecular level,
we pursue a bottom-up approach and develop and
apply model membrane systems. In particular, we
have established functional lipid bilayers on highly
ordered pore arrays. These so-called pore-spanning
membranes suspend nanometer- to micrometer-
sized pores in an aluminum or silicon substrate.
They separate two aqueous compartments and can
hence be envisioned as an intermediate between
solid supported and freestanding membranes. With
these model systems in hand, we are able to inves-
tigate transport processes mediated by ion chan-
nels, such as connexons, and protein pumps, such
as bacteriorhodopsin. Recently, we managed to
reconstitute parts of the neuronal fusion machinery
enabling us to study the fusion process between
a planar pore-spanning membrane and a single
vesicle on a molecular level. As pore-spanning
membranes are similar to freestanding ones such
as giant unilamellar vesicles, domain formation as
well as membrane reorganization can be readily
observed. We exploit this by studying the impact
of protein binding on membrane domain reorga-
nization, a process that is discussed in the context
of Shiga toxin uptake into a cell. Similarly, we
study the coupling of the plasma membrane to the
underlying cytoskeleton mediated by the protein
ezrin, making use of our pore-spanning membrane
systems. All these studies are, of course, not pos-
sible without great collaborators, who are in part
unified in the Collaborative Research Center (CRC
803,
.
html) established at the University of Göttingen.
Claudia Steinem
Spotlight on Single-Molecule
Dynamics in Membranes
Associate Editor
Lukas Tamm
has com-
piled a collection of top
papers on membranes
published in the last
year. Visit www.
biophysj.org/
home to view the
virtual issue.
