Related papers: Continuum Electrostatics in Cell Biology
Electromechanical coupling through piezoelectric polymer chains allows the emission of organic molecules in active nanowires to be tuned. This effect is evidenced by highly bendable arrays of counter-ion dye-doped nanowires made of a…
In the mitotic spindle microtubules attach to kinetochores via catch bonds during metaphase, and microtubule depolymerization forces give rise to stochastic chromosome oscillations. We investigate the cooperative stochastic microtubule…
Biological nanomachines are nanometer-size macromolecular complexes that catalyze chemical reactions in the presence of substrate molecules. The catalytic functions carried out by such nanomachines in the cytoplasm, and biological membranes…
We investigate the dielectrophoretic motion of charge-neutral, polarizable nanocolloids through molecular dynamics simulations. Comparison to analytical results derived for continuum systems shows that the discrete charge distributions on…
We present a modelling framework for the dynamics of cells structured by the concentration of a micromolecule they contain. We derive general equations for the evolution of the cell population and of the extra-cellular concentration of the…
The action of certain static magnetic fields on charged test particles is interpreted as a consequence of the interaction of the particles with electric dipole distributions emitted by other charged particles in relative motion. The dipole…
Probably the most fundamental processes for biological systems is their ability to create themselves through the use of cell division and cell differentiation. In this work a simple physical model is proposed for biological cell division.…
The hydrodynamic theory of active nematics has been often used to describe the spatio-temporal dynamics of cell flows and motile topological defects within soft confluent tissues. Those theories, however, often rely on the assumption that…
A molecular rotor mechanism is proposed to explain weak magnetic field effects in biology. Despite being nanoscale (1 nm), this rotor exhibits quantum superposition and interference. Analytical modeling shows its quantum dynamics are highly…
Recent experiments reveal both passive subdiffusion of various nanoparticles and anomalous active transport of such particles by molecular motors in the molecularly crowded environment of living biological cells. Passive and active…
Biomolecular condensates form by phase separation of biological polymers and have important functions in the cell $-$ functions that are inherently connected to their physical properties. A remarkable aspect of such condensates is that…
Fluid pumping and the generation of electric current by living tissues are required during morphogenetic processes and for maintainance of homeostasis. How these flows emerge from active and passive ion transport in cells has been well…
Based on symmetry consideration of migration and shape deformations, we formulate phenomenologically the dynamics of cell crawling in two dimensions. Forces are introduced to change the cell shape. The shape deformations induce migration of…
Anchorage-dependent cells collect information on the mechanical properties of the environment through their contractile machineries and use this information to position and orient themselves. Since the probing process is anisotropic,…
The stochastic driving force exerted by a single molecular motor (e.g., a kinesin, or myosin) moving on a periodic molecular track (microtubule, actin filament, etc.) is discussed from a general viewpoint open to experimental test. An…
Electroosmosis is a fascinating effect where liquid motion is induced by an applied electric field. Counter ions accumulate in the vicinity of charged surfaces, triggering a coupling between liquid mass transport and external electric…
During the catalytic synthesis of graphene, nanotubes, fibers, and other nanostructures, many intriguing phenomena occur, such as phase separation, precipitation, and analogs of capillary action. We demonstrate that catalytic nanoparticles…
Attosecond chemistry involves developing strategies to manipulate electronic coherent waves in molecules, which can influence the outcome of photoinduced reactions. While recent progress in this field calls for investigations of…
The study of the interactions of living adherent cells with mechanically stable (visco)elastic materials enables understanding and exploiting physiological phenomena mediated by cell-extracellular communication. However, insight on the…
The shape memory effect and pseudoelasticity in Cu nanowires is one possible pair of mechanisms that prevents high aspect ratio nanosized field electron emitters to be stable at room temperature and permits their growth under high electric…