Alexander Grosberg est invité par l'assemblée du Collège de France, sur proposition du Pr Jean-François Joanny.
Series of 4 lectures about polymer physics and cell nucleus. A more provocative, although entirely justified, title would be "Introduction to Nuclear Physics".
This plan is designed as an attempt to cover what seems to me at present reasonably well established foundations of the very dynamic and rapidly evolving field. Although the field is very far from complete, some basic ideas seem to be crystallizing, which is why discussing them in a relatively systematic way may be appropriate.
(1) Phenomenology: chromatin is a functional form of DNA in the cell. Main experimental tools to examine chromatin. Microscopy, HiC, Diffusion Correlation Spectroscopy. Nucleosomes and their charges, 10 nanometer fiber, chromosome territories, domains.
(2) Equilibrium polymer models, contact probabilities, loops, domains territories. Affinity (interactions) based segregation and microsegregation. Analogy and differences between chromosome folding and protein folding. Crumpled (fractal) globule model and loop extrusion.
(3) Activity driven folding and segregation. Diffusion and subdiffusion of loci. Relative motion of different loci. Models of diffusion in subdiffusion, Rouse versus non-Rouse dynamics.
(4) Chromatin hydrodynamics. Two-fluid model of activity driven flows in chromatin and nucleoplasm.
