The Physics of the Cytoskeleton - from Early Cancer Diagnosis to a Brain in Bottle

Since any biological cell more advanced in evolution than a bacterium, depends in its internal structure and organization on the cytoskeleton a highly dynamic polymer network within the cell interior our group strives to understand the physics of the cytoskeleton. We have developed novel laser-based nanomanipulation tools to take a look into cells and to investigate the cytoskeleton. We particularly examine to which extent changes in the cytoskeleton characterize the progression of cancer from precancer to metastasis and how the cytoskeleton can be used to control neuronal growth. Our ultimate goal is the development of a tabletop device for quick cancer diagnosis, which accomplishes cancer's earliest detection and precise determination of its stage existing techniques fail in both aspects. Moreover, our research group plans to build well-controlled circuits of genuine neurons and to develop novel therapies in neuroprothetics.