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Muscle Mechanics: Molecular Properties to Contractile Function
Sponsored by APS Muscle Biology Group

Muscles contract through the coordinated behavior of billions of molecules. Traditional mechanics experiments adopt a 'top-down' approach and try to infer the mechano-chemistry of individual molecular interactions from measurements of intact muscle cells. Work in the alternate direction, from the 'bottom-up', tries to predict the behavior of whole muscles from the assumed properties of individual molecules. The purpose of this symposium is to show how these synergistic strategies can be combined to yield novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of muscle contraction. Speakers will present new experimental data describing contractile events at both the molecular and at the whole cell level and demonstrate how this integrative approach is helping to improve our understanding of muscle function in health and disease.