Biological Physics
In biological materials, strong binding despite an applied load force is often based on clusters of dynamic bonds that share the load. Different macroscopic behaviors have been described depending on whether the load is shared locally or…
Proteins are vital biological molecules found in every living organism, and their function is determined by what shape they fold into. Peptides are essentially subsets of proteins, and therefore ideal as model systems for protein folding.…
Living organisms rely on molecular networks, such as gene circuits and signaling pathways, for information processing and robust decision-making in crowded, noisy environments. Recent advances show that interacting biomolecules…
Achieving stable in vivo locomotion is essential for using magnetically actuated microswimmers for biomedical applications; however, while existing microswimmers have excellent motion control in vitro, their motion is greatly hindered…
Due to the persistence of latently infected CD4$^+$ T cells, achieving a functional cure for HIV-1 remains a significant challenge since the viruses are able to evade immune clearance, which in turn enables post-treatment viral rebound.…
We employ a multiscale computational approach to investigate the condensation process of the C-terminal low-complexity region of the Caprin1 protein as a function of increasing ATP concentration for three states: the initial mixed state,…
Reliable and rapid morphology measurement of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) with a high level of branching and entanglement is crucial for quality control, grade definition, and investigating morphology-performance relationships in various…
Plants often exhibit regular arrangements of seeds or leaves, known as phyllotaxis, and can famously exhibit Fibonacci spirals, as in sunflower heads or on pine cones. While there are many models which can reproduce spiral formation, the…
The power of photothermal spectroscopic imaging to visualize antimicrobial interaction on the surface of individual bacteria cells has been demonstrated on the model system Bacillus subtilis and vancomycin using mid-infrared photo-induced…
Cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) have two mechanosensitive elements: the hair bundle with mechanotrasducer channels and the piezoelectric lateral wall of the cell body. The present report examines how these elements interact with each other…
During neurodevelopment, neuronal axons navigate through the extracellular environment, guided by various cues to establish connections with distant target cells. Among other factors, axon trajectories are influenced by heterogeneities in…
The growth of plants is a hydromechanical phenomenon in which cells enlarge by absorbing water, while their walls expand and remodel under turgor-induced tension. In multicellular tissues, where cells are mechanically interconnected,…
Cargo distribution within eukaryotic cells relies on the active transport mechanisms driven by molecular motors. Despite their critical role, the intricate relationship between motor transport properties and cargo binding - and its impact…
Plants are a paradigm for active shape control in response to stimuli. For instance, it is well-known that a tilted plant will eventually straighten vertically, demonstrating the influence of both an external stimulus, gravity, and an…
Assembly theory predicts that a distinguishing signature of life is its ability to produce complex molecules in abundance, opening new possibilities for life detection. Experimental validation of this approach has so far relied on abiotic…
Biologists and physicists have a rich tradition of modeling living systems with simple models composed of a few interacting components. Despite the remarkable success of this approach, it remains unclear how to use such finely tuned models…
This note considers a system in which three ligands can independently bind to a scaffold. Such systems arise in diverse applications, including immunotherapy and synthetic biology. It is shown that there are unique steady states in each…
Evaluating the timing and trajectory of sensory system innovations is crucial for understanding the increase in phylogenetic, behavioural, and ecological diversity during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition. Elucidation of sensory adaptations…
The search for what differentiates inanimate matter from living things began in antiquity as a search for a "fundamental life force" embedded deep within living things - a special material unit owned only by life - later transforming to…
A variety of biomolecular systems rely on exploratory dynamics to reach target locations or states within a cell. Without a mechanism to remotely sense and move directly towards a target, the system must sample over many paths, often…