A topological perspective on (bio)polymers

Speaker: Agnese Barbensi
Affiliation: University of Queensland

Abstract

The last few decades have seen important advances in understanding the consequences of topological constraints in many biological systems. A famous example is the case of knotted proteins, where the presence of entanglement is thought to influence their folding behaviour and mechanisms.  More recently, topological data analysis has been providing an effective computational window, aimed at characterising a variety of natural phenomena in terms of their topological features. In this talk, we present techniques and results in computational and applied topology, interpreted broadly, with a focus on applications to biopolymers.