Single-molecule biomechanics with optical methods

Single-molecule observation and manipulation have come of age. With the adv ent of optical tweezers and other methods for probing and imaging single mo lecules, investigators have circumvented the model-dependent extrapolation from ensemble assays that has been the hallmark of classical biochemistry a nd biophysics. In recent years, there have been important advances in the u nderstanding of how motor proteins work. The range of these technologies ha s also started to expand into areas such as DNA transcription and protein f olding. Here, recent experiments with rotary motors, Linear motors, RNA pol ymerase, and titin are described.