Related papers: An electrostatic model for biological cell divisio…
A dynamic model for cell differentiation is studied, where cells with internal chemical reaction dynamics interact with each other and replicate. It leads to spontaneous differentiation of cells and determination, as is discussed in the…
Efficient bacterial chromosome segregation typically requires the coordinated action of a three-components, fueled by adenosine triphosphate machinery called the partition complex. We present a phenomenological model accounting for the…
Electron-hole pairs in organic photovoltaics dissociate efficiently despite their Coulomb-binding energy exceeding thermal energy at room temperature. The electronic states involved in charge separation couple to structured vibrational…
In this paper we consider a physical system in which two DNA molecules braid about each other. The distance between the two molecular ends, on either side of the braid, is held at a distance much larger than supercoiling radius of the…
The distances over which biological molecules and their complexes can function range from a few nanometres, in the case of folded structures, to millimetres, for example during chromosome organization. Describing phenomena that cover such…
Developing tissues often maintain mechanical coherence while continuously remodeling through cellular processes such as cell divisions and rearrangements. In this way, they are an example of amorphous solids. In passive amorphous solids,…
A fundamental question in biology is how cell populations evolve into different subtypes based on homogeneous processes at the single cell level. Here we show that population bimodality can emerge even when biological processes are…
As is well known in electrolyte theory, electrostatic fields are attenuated by the presence of mobile charges in the solution. This seems to limit the possibility of an electrostatic repulsion model of biological interactions such as cell…
We consider a simple model for the geminate electron-hole separation process in organic photovoltaic cells, in order to illustrate the influence of dimensionality of conducting channels on the efficiency of the process. The Miller-Abrahams…
Stem cells are characterized by their ability to self-renew, as well as to differentiate and give rise to new populations of cells. Stem cell divisions are crucial for generative processes that occur during early development, and later in…
Cellular bioelectricity describes the biological phenomenon in which cells in living tissue generate and maintain patterns of voltage gradients induced by differing concentrations of charged ions. A growing body of research suggests that…
Piecewise smooth hybrid systems, involving continuous and discrete variables, are suitable models for describing the multiscale regulatory machinery of the biological cells. In hybrid models, the discrete variables can switch on and off…
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,…
Phase separation plays an role in determining the self-assembly of biological and soft-matter systems. In biological systems, liquid-liquid phase separation inside a cell leads to the formation of various macromolecular aggregates. The…
This paper develops a point-mutation model describing the evolutionary dynamics of a population of adult stem cells. Such a model may prove useful for quantitative studies of tissue aging and the emergence of cancer. We consider two modes…
Chromosomal crossovers play a crucial role in meiotic cell division, as they ensure proper chromosome segregation and increase genetic variability. Experiments have consistently revealed two key observations across species: (i) the number…
Eukaryotic DNA is packaged into chromatin: one-dimensional arrays of nucleosomes separated by stretches of linker DNA are folded into 30-nm chromatin fibers which in turn form higher-order structures. Each nucleosome, the fundamental unit…
Charge separation properties, that is the ability of a chromophore, or a chromophore/semiconductor interface, to separate charges upon light absorption, are crucial characteristics for an efficient photovoltaic device. Starting from this…
Cell differentiation is an important process in living organisms. Differentiation is mostly based on binary decisions with the progenitor cells choosing between two specific lineages. The differentiation dynamics have both deterministic and…
This paper describes an investigation into part of the mechanical mechanisms underlying the formation of mitotic spindle, the cellular machinery responsible for chromosomal separation during cell division. In normal eukaryotic cells,…