Magnus Andersson

Profile

Affiliate Associate Professor.

Develops optical tools to probe biology at the border of physics and chemistry.

Magnus is a physicist working at the border of physics, chemistry, and biology. He is the head of the Biophysics and Biophotonics group located at the Department of Physics at Umeå University. For 20 years, he has developed optical tweezers tools that are used to study biophysical and physicochemical properties of cells, bacteria, and spores on the single-cell level. Using in-house designed optical tweezers, the group is experts on force measurements and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Of special interest is single molecule/organelle force measurements that provide information on how bacteria can attach to surfaces and vibration spectroscopy to measure the chemical content of spores.

Magnus’s research also aims to develop image-processing algorithms and software development for tracking organisms. And, to confine organisms, the group develop microfluidic systems using 3D-printing technology.

Current Projects

How do interconnected networks of cells emerge during wood formation?

Collaborators – Stephane Verger; Funding: Kempestiftelserna
Biophysical and Physicochemical Fingerprinting of Single Bacterial Spores

Collaborators – Swedish Defense Research Establishment (FOI); Funding: Vetenskapsrådet
The glymphatic pathway of the brain – A factor in dementia?

Collaborator – Anders Eklund, Anders Wåhlin, Jan Malm, Katrine Riklund, Funding: Stiftelsen för strategisk forskning (SSF)
Identification of key adhesion mechanisms in pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria – Characterization and analysis of bacterial adhesion

Collaborators – Esther Bullitt (Boston University School of Medicine), Joseph Baker (The College of New Jersey), Anton Zavialov (University of Turku), Bernt Eric Uhlin (UmU)

The Latest Posts

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The Genome Contact Map Explorer

The Genome Contact Map Explorer

The genome contact map explorer: a tool to find patterns in piles of DNA contact data The problem Every chromosome in our cells is a long polymer that is packaged [...]

Cell Biology Pitches: Tumors, Imaging, Tissue Formation and Genotoxins

Cell Biology Pitches: Tumors, Imaging, Tissue Formation and Genotoxins

Cell Biology Pitches: Tumors, Imaging, Tissue Formation and Genotoxins A new twist on an IceLab classic Adapted from IceLab’s popular lunch pitches, we recently hosted an Open Project Pitch session [...]

What’s your message?

What’s your message?

What’s your message? Public speaking with twice the impact, using half the effort. Author: Cam Barber This book debunks several myths about public speaking and gives handy tips on how to [...]

Spatial distribution of ancient marine faunas

Spatial distribution of ancient marine faunas

Spatial distribution of ancient marine faunas The problem Organisms living in the same region are what defines a biogeographic province, or bioprovince. Finding the boundaries between these bioprovinces is an [...]

Zero-crossing statistics: keep the bridge from falling down

Zero-crossing statistics: keep the bridge from falling down

Zero-crossing statistics for non-Markovian time series The problem A bridge subjected to irregular loads will gradually be damaged. If it is not maintained, disastrous consequences will follow. It’s important, then, [...]

The Problem with Scientific Journal Ranking

The Problem with Scientific Journal Ranking

There's a Problem With The Way We Rank Scientific Journals by Ludvig Bohlin The research community has passed the 50 million mark in terms of the total number of science [...]