Biological Physics
Little is known about mechanics underlying the interaction among platelets during activation and aggregation. Although the strength of a blood thrombus has likely major biological importance, no previous study has measured directly the…
Integrins are transmembrane proteins involved in hemostasis, wound healing, immunity and cancer. In response to intracellular signals and ligand binding, integrins adopt different conformations: the bent (resting) form; the intermediate…
Magnetic nanoparticles have a broad spectrum of biomedical applications including cell separation, diagnostics and therapy. One key issue is little explored: how do the engineered nanoparticles interact with blood components after…
While allostery is of paramount importance for protein regulation, the underlying dynamical process of ligand (un)binding at one site, resulting time evolution of the protein structure, and change of the binding affinity at a remote site is…
In the emerging field of 3D bioprinting, cell damage due to large deformations is considered a main cause for cell death and loss of functionality inside the printed construct. Those deformations, in turn, strongly depend on the…
Emerging artificial enzymes with reprogrammed and augmented catalytic activity and substrate selectivity have long been pursued with sustained efforts. The majority of current candidates rely on noble metals or transition metal oxides with…
Using the shifted-excitation Raman difference spectroscopy technique and an optical fibre featuring a negative curvature excitation core and a coaxial ring of high numerical aperture collection cores, we have developed a portable,…
In physics of living systems, a search for relationships of a few macroscopic variables that emerge from many microscopic elements is a central issue. We evolved gene regulatory networks so that the expression of target genes (partial…
Life is characterized by a myriad of complex dynamic processes allowing organisms to grow, reproduce, and evolve. Physical approaches for describing systems out of thermodynamic equilibrium have been increasingly applied to living systems,…
The phenomenological mathematical model of COVID-19 spreading is proposed for large countries with geographical differentiation of population density. According to the model COVID-19 spreading takes the form of several spatio-temporal waves…
Modern genomics experiments measure functional behaviors for many thousands of DNA sequences. We suggest that, especially when these sequences are chosen at random, it is natural to compute correlation functions between sequences and…
Flapping-wing insects, birds, and robots are thought to offset the high power cost of oscillatory wing motion by using elastic elements for energy storage and return. Insects possess highly resilient elastic regions in their flight anatomy…
The proteasome is a large biomolecular complex responsible for protein degradation. It is under intense research due to its fundamental role in cellular homeostasis, and tremendous potential for medicinal applications. Recent data from…
Globular proteins undergo thermal fluctuations in solution, while maintaining an overall well-defined folded structure. In particular, studies have shown that the core structure of globular proteins differs in small, but significant ways…
These notes are an account of a series of lectures given at the Les Houches Summer School "Active Matter and Non-equilibrium Statistical Physics" during August and September 2018.
Feedback in sensory biochemical networks can give rise to bifurcations in cells' behavioral response. These bifurcations share many properties with thermodynamic critical points. Evidence suggests that biological systems may operate near…
Collective cell migration plays an essential role in various biological processes, such as development or cancer proliferation. While cell-cell interactions are clearly key determinants of collective cell migration -- in addition to…
In the present study, we have described how by using molecular docking and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation studies the combination drug of ivermectin and doxycycline can be used as a potential inhibitor for SARS-CoV-2 virus. In lieu of…
The virus SARS-CoV-2 has created a situation of global emergency all over the world from the last few months. We are witnessing a helpless situation due to COVID-19 as no vaccine or drug is effective against the disease. In the present…
The Artificial Axon is a unique synthetic system, based on biomolecular components, which supports action potentials. Here we examine, experimentally and theoretically, the properties of the threshold for firing in this system. As in real…