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Takano Lab
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A lab that uses computation to uncover how protein-based “molecular machines” work.
AboutAbout the lab
Computing the nanoscale machines that make up life.
The Takano Lab is a computational biophysics lab that uncovers the mechanisms of biological function from the atomic and molecular level.
Proteins spontaneously form the three-dimensional structures specified by their blueprints, and by assembling and disassembling they work as “molecular machines” and “molecular devices.”
The structural stability of molecular machines is only very slight, and some of them collapse because of thermal fluctuations. The lab asks how such fragile machines can function at all.
Using computational physics and cutting-edge computing technology, the lab approaches their operating mechanisms.
Key terms
- Molecular machine
- A mechanism in which molecules such as proteins assemble and perform a defined function like a machine.
- Molecular device
- A molecule that plays a role in storing, processing, or transmitting information within a living system.
- Thermal fluctuation
- The constant small-scale motion of atoms and molecules caused by heat. Smaller structures are more strongly affected.
ResearchResearch themes
Using computational physics and cutting-edge computing technology, the lab seeks to uncover the operating mechanisms of molecular machines, molecular devices, and living systems from the atomic and molecular level. Its targets range from actomyosin, which is responsible for muscle contraction, to molecular machines involved in intracellular transport and light reception.
*Illustrative imageMolecular machines that drive muscle contraction
Muscle contraction, which underlies our movement, and the heartbeat are driven by a molecular machine in which two kinds of proteins, actin and myosin, bind and dissociate moment by moment. The lab uses computation to study how the energy of ATP is used.
*Illustrative imageMolecular motors responsible for long-distance transport in cells
In nerve cells, materials are carried over long distances. This transport is carried out by molecular motors that move along microtubules using the energy of ATP, and the lab analyzes their operating mechanisms.
*Illustrative imageDynamin, which drives the uptake of materials
Dynamin is a molecular machine that works when a cell takes in material from outside. The lab investigates how it uses the energy of GTP to drive this uptake.
*Illustrative imageActin filaments that sense force
Actin filaments are also molecular machines that sense force applied from outside and control cell motility. The lab studies the mechanism of force sensing from the atomic and molecular level.
MembersFaculty
The Takano Lab consists of faculty members, researchers, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2024
- ProfessorMitsunori Takano
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Crowded cytosol” TimVickers / Public domain (cropped)
- Molecular machines that drive muscle contraction: “PDB 1b7t EBI” Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute / Public domain (cropped)
- Molecular motors responsible for long-distance transport in cells: “Cultured Rat Hippocampal Neuron ( )” ZEISS Microscopy from Germany / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Dynamin, which drives the uptake of materials: “Dynamin-1 Filament (Side)” Rkott / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Actin filaments that sense force: “Actin filament atomic model” Thomas Splettstoesser / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (安田研究室): “Hydrodynamic flow focusing in a microfluidic device” Ihor Panas / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (上田研究室): “Osteosarcoma cells stained for actin, microtubules, and nuclei” Howard Vindin / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (高山研究室): “Si atoms in graphene ( )” Oak Ridge National Laboratory / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (山田研究室): “Keplers supernova” NASA/ESA/JHU/R.Sankrit & W.Blair / Public domain (cropped)
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