Biological Physics
Each living species carries a complex DNA sequence that determines their unique features and functionalities. It is generally assumed that life started from a random pool of oligonucleotides sequences, generated by a prebiotic…
Cell experiments with large, short electric field pulses of opposite polarity reveal a remarkable phenomenon: Bipolar cancellation (BPC). Typical defining experiments involve quantitative observation of tracer molecule influx at times of…
Following the ideas of Davydov's soliton theory, we study the bio-energy transport in protein molecules. By using a quantum Brownian motion model for a phonon dressed vibrational exciton, we calculate the time-dependence on the mean square…
The low-frequency collective vibrational modes in proteins as well as the protein-water interface have been suggested as dominant factors controlling the efficiency of biochemical reactions and biological energy transport. It is thus…
The design of single-molecule photoswitchable emitters was the first milestone toward the advent of single-molecule localization microscopy that sets a new paradigm in the field of optical imaging. Several photoswitchable emitters have been…
Quantifying entropy production in various active matter phases will open new avenues for probing self-organization principles in these far-from-equilibrium systems. It has been hypothesized that the dissipation of free energy by active…
High resolution low angle x-ray data are reported for the gel phase of DPPC lipid bilayers, extending the previous q range of 1.0 {\AA}-1 to 1.3 {\AA}-1, and employing a new technique to obtain more accurate intensities and form factors…
Pigment organelles known as melanosomes disperse or aggregate in a melanophore in response to hormones. These movements are mediated by the microtubule motors kinesin-2 and cytoplasmic dynein. However, the force generation mechanism of…
Investigating the ``physics'' of food crises consists in identifying features which are common to all large-scale food crises. One element which stands out is the fact that during a food crisis there is not only a surge in deaths but also a…
Complementary DNA strands in solution reliably hybridize to form stable duplexes. We study the kinetics of the hybridization process and the mechanisms by which two initially isolated strands come together to form a stable double helix. We…
A dynamic self-organized morphology is the hallmark of network-shaped organisms like slime moulds and fungi. Organisms continuously re-organize their flexible, undifferentiated body plans to forage for food. Among these organisms the slime…
Kinesins move processively toward the plus end of microtubules by hydrolyzing ATP for each step. From an enzymatic perspective, the mechanism of mechanical motion coupled to the nucleotide chemistry is often well explained using a…
Intermediate filaments are cytoskeletal proteins that are key regulators of cell mechanics, a role which is intrinsically tied to their hierarchical structure and their unique ability to accommodate large axial strains. However, how the…
The circadian clock is the molecular mechanism responsible for the adaptation to daily rhythms in living organisms. Oscillations and fluctuations in environmental conditions regulate the circadian clock through signaling pathways. We study…
The aim of this paper is to provide a fractional generalization of the Gompertz law via a Caputo-like definition of fractional derivative of a function with respect to another function. In particular, we observe that the model presented…
A classic problem in microbiology is that bacteria display two types of growth behavior when cultured on a mixture of two carbon sources: the two sources are sequentially consumed one after another (diauxie) or they are simultaneously…
The cells and tissues that make up our body juggle contradictory mechanical demands. It is crucial for their survival to be able to withstand large mechanical loads, but it is equally crucial for them to produce forces and actively change…
The scientific community has witnessed an exponential increase in the applications of graphene and graphene-based materials in a wide range of fields. For what concerns neuroscience, the interest raised by these materials is two-fold. On…
Excessively high, neural synchronisation has been associated with epileptic seizures, one of the most common brain diseases worldwide. A better understanding of neural synchronisation mechanisms can thus help control or even treat epilepsy.…
Purpose: Biophysical tissue models are increasingly used in the interpretation of diffusion MRI (dMRI) data, with the potential to provide specific biomarkers of brain microstructural changes. However, the general Standard Model has…