Related papers: Microtubule Dynamics and Oscillating State for Mit…

We analyze the role of the force-dependent kinetics of motor proteins in the stability of antiparallel arrays of polar filaments, such as those in the mitotic spindle. We determine the possible stable structures and show that there exists…

We propose a novel mechanism of cell motility, which relies on the coupling of actin polymerization at the cell membrane to geometric confinement. We consider a polymerizing viscoelastic cytoskeletal gel confined in a narrow channel, and…

The possible disruption of a microtubule during mitosis can control the duplication of a cancer cell. Cancer detection and treatment may be possible based on the detection and control of microtubule mechanical oscillations in cells through…

The conditions under which biological cells switch from a static to a motile state are fundamental to the understanding of many healthy and pathological processes. In this paper, we show that even in the presence of a fully symmetric…

Processive molecular motors which drive the traffic of organelles in cells move in a directed way along cytoskeletal filaments. On large time scales, they perform motor walks, i.e., peculiar random walks which arise from the repeated…

The growth of actin filament networks is a fundamental biological process that drives a variety of cellular and intracellular motions. During motility, eukaryotic cells and intracellular pathogens are propelled by actin networks organized…

An atom moving in a spatially periodic field experiences a temporary periodic perturbation and undergoes a resonance transition between atomic internal states when the transition frequency is equal to the atomic velocity divided by the…

We theoretically analyze the spectrum of a magnetic molecule when its charge and spin can couple to the molecular vibrations. More specifically, we show that the interplay between charge-vibron and spin-vibron coupling leads to a…

In this paper we use a continuous model to describe the development of a single cell lineage following the committal of stem cells. Three separate controls are implemented in the model, namely the proliferative control of stem cells, the…

Microtubules and motor proteins are building blocks of self-organized subcellular biological structures such as the mitotic spindle and the centrosomal microtubule array. These same ingredients can form new "bioactive" liquid-crystalline…

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…

We derive a model describing spatio-temporal organization of an array of microtubules interacting via molecular motors. Starting from a stochastic model of inelastic polar rods with a generic anisotropic interaction kernel we obtain a set…

Motor-driven cytoskeletal remodeling in cellular systems can often be accompanied by a diffusive-like effect at local scales, but distinguishing the contributions of the ordering process, such as active contraction of a network, from this…

The actin cytoskeleton of cells is in continuous motion due to both polymerization of new filaments and their contraction by myosin II molecular motors. Through adhesion to the substrate, such intracellular flow can be converted into cell…

Excitation of spin wave modes of a vortex-state magnetic dot by an out-of-plane oscillating magnetic field is studied numerically in the presence of a static in-plane magnetic field. It is shown, that the application of the in-plane static…

The fast blood stream of animals is associated with large shear stresses. Consequently, blood cells have evolved a special morphology and a specific internal architecture allowing them to maintain their integrity over several weeks. For…

Eukaryotic cells and intracellular pathogens such as bacteria or viruses utilize the actin polymerization machinery to propel themselves forward. Thereby, the onset of motion and choice of direction may be the result of a spontaneous…

Cytoplasmic streaming, the persistent flow of fluid inside a cell, induces intracellular transport, which plays a key role in fundamental biological processes. In meiosis II mouse oocytes (developing egg cells) awaiting fertilisation, the…

Microtubules are stiff filamentary proteins that constitute an important component of the cytoskeleton of cells. These are known to exhibit a dynamic instability. A steadily growing microtubule can suddenly start depolymerizing very…

Starting from the hypothesis that the tubulin dimer is a conformationally bistable molecule - fluctuating between a curved and a straight configuration at room temperature - we develop a model for polymorphic dynamics of the microtubule…