Related papers: Biologically Inspired Nanomaterials: A Conference …
We propose a review of the current knowledge about the synthesis, magnetic properties and applications of magnetic cylindrical nanowires and nanotubes. By "nano" we consider diameters reasonably smaller than a micrometer. At this scale,…
This work is an attempt for a state-of-the-art survey of natural and life sciences with the goal to define the scope and address the central questions of an original research program. It is focused on the phenomena of emergence, adaptive…
Recent advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS) such as nanomechanical resonators, which have recently received significant attention from the scientific community. This has not only…
Since the discovery of the presence of biogenic magnetites in living organisms, there have been speculations on the role that these biomagnetites play in cellular processes. It seems that the formation of biomagnetite crystals is a…
With exquisite precision and reproducibility, cells orchestrate the cooperative action of thousands of nanometer-sized molecular motors to carry out mechanical tasks at much larger length scales, such as cell motility, division and…
Nature has engineered complex designs to achieve advanced properties and functionalities through evolution, over millions of years. Many organisms have adapted to their living environment producing extremely efficient materials and…
The importance of molecular-scale forces in sculpting biological form and function has been acknowledged for more than a century. Accounting for forces in biology is a problem that lies at the intersection of soft condensed matter physics,…
Advanced photonic tools may enable researchers and clinicians to visualize, track, control and manipulate biological processes at the single-cell level in space and time. Biological systems are complex and highly organized on both spatial…
A primary motivation for our research in Digital Ecosystems is the desire to exploit the self-organising properties of biological ecosystems. Ecosystems are thought to be robust, scalable architectures that can automatically solve complex,…
A possible universal definition for a nanostructured material based purely on experimental data available in literature for a wide variety of physical phenomena is proposed. It is suggested that for values of the ratio of sample volume, V…
Nanofluidics has firmly established itself as a new field in fluid mechanics, as novel properties have been shown to emerge in fluids at the nanometric scale. Thanks to recent developments in fabrication technology, artificial nanofluidic…
Living systems are made of active materials with microscopic components that work together to perform macroscopic biological tasks. The breakdown of these collective functionalities leads to diseases, which, conversely, could be treated by…
There is a growing need for biolabels that can be used in both optical and electron microscopies, are non-cytotoxic, and do not photobleach. Such biolabels could enable targeted nanoscale imaging of sub-cellular structures, and help to…
Nanocomposite materials made of block copolymer and nanoparticles display properties which can be different from the purely polymeric matrix. The resulting material is a crossover of the original properties of the block copolymer and the…
Understanding the binding dynamics of liquid molecules is of fundamental importance in physical and life sciences. However, nanoscale fast dynamics pose great challenges for experimental characterization. Conventionally, the binding…
Intricate biomineralization processes in molluscs engineer hierarchical structures with meso-, nano-, and atomic architectures that give the final composite material exceptional mechanical strength and optical iridescence on the macroscale.…
A fundamental design rule that nature has developed for biological machines is the intimate correlation between motion and function. One class of biological machines is molecular motors in living cells, which directly convert chemical…
Single-molecule biophysics has transformed our understanding of the fundamental molecular processes involved in living biological systems, but also of the fascinating physics of life. Far more exotic than a collection of exemplars of soft…
The methodologies of bioinspiration, biomimetics, and bioreplication are inevitably pointing to the incorporation of multifunctionality in engineered materials when designing ever more complex systems. Optimal multifunctionality is also the…
Bacterial quorum sensing can be engineered with a view to the design of biotechnological applications based on their intrinsic role as a means of communication. We propose the creation of a positive feedback loop that will promote the…