Biological Physics
Bacterial colonies are a well-known example of living active matter, exhibiting collective behaviors such as nematic alignment and collective motion that play an important role in the spread of microbial infections. While the underlying…
Micro- and nanoplastics pose a growing threat to marine organisms, such as reef-building corals. Yet, our understanding of microplastic uptake, interaction with coral tissue, and incorporation into coral skeletons remains limited, mainly…
To quantify how well theoretical predictions of structural ensembles agree with experimental measurements, we depend on the accuracy of forward models. These models are computational frameworks that generate observable quantities from…
The remarkable progress of artificial intelligence (AI) has revealed the enormous energy demands of modern digital architectures, raising deep concerns about sustainability. In stark contrast, the human brain operates efficiently on only…
Many protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks take place in the fluid yet structured plasma membrane. Lipid domains, sometimes termed rafts, have been implicated in the functioning of various membrane-bound signaling processes. Here, we…
The protective capsid encasing the genetic material of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been shown to traverse the nuclear pore complex (NPC) intact, despite exceeding the passive diffusion threshold by over three orders of magnitude.…
Living cells exhibit a complex organization comprising numerous compartments, among which are RNA- and protein-rich membraneless, liquid-like organelles known as biomolecular condensates. Energy-consuming processes regulate their formation…
The integration of functional proteins into solid-state electronic devices remains a central challenge in molecular bioelectronics due to the fragile nature of protein structures and their complex charge-transport behaviour. Here, we…
Complex gene regulatory networks often display emergent simple behavior. Sometimes this simplicity can be traced to a nearly equivalent energy landscape, but not always. Here, we show how a topological theory for stochastic and biochemical…
Developmental patterning comprises processes that range from purely instructed, where external signals specify cell fates, to fully self-organized, where spatial patterns emerge autonomously through cellular interactions. We propose that…
Transcription is a fundamental cellular process, and the first step of gene expression. In human cells, it depends on the binding to chromatin of various proteins, including RNA polymerases and numerous transcription factors (TFs).…
We study the genetic interfaces between two species of an expanding colony that consists of individual microorganisms that reproduce and undergo diffusion, both at the frontier and in the interior. Within the bulk of the colony, the genetic…
Flows are essential to transport resources over large distances. As soon as diffusion becomes time-limiting, flows are needed. Flows are key for the function of multiple human organs, from the blood vasculature to the lungs, the digestive…
In a living system composed of interacting components such as molecules, cells, and tissues, each component often adaptively changes its internal states in response to interactions with its surrounding components. For example, individual…
Recent generative learning models applied to protein multiple sequence alignment (MSA) datasets include simple and interpretable physics-based Potts covariation models and other machine learning models such as MSA-Transformer (MSA-T). The…
Humans rely on foot stiffness to withstand the propulsive forces of walking and running. Skeletal adaptations that increase foot stiffness include the medial longitudinal arch (MLA) and the transverse tarsal arch (TTA). The TTA has been…
Living systems contain intricate biochemical networks whose structure is closely related to their function and allows them to exhibit robust behavior in the presence of external stimuli. Such networks typically involve catalytic enzymes,…
Cell competition in multicellular organisms has been shown to play a critical role during the development of organisms, cancer progression, and in the establishment and maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Various mechanisms of cell…
We address the Kramers escape problem for Brownian particles in bistable substrates with deformable double-well shapes. The shape deformability is considered of three distinct forms: in one, the positions of the two degenerate minima can be…
The movement of the infective form of the T. Cruzi parasite within the human blood is not completely understood. Video microscopy observations confirm forward motility of the protozoa and relate it to the deformation of the body,…