Related papers: Challenging packaging limits and infectivity of ph…
Genetic engineering of cells has a range of applications in treating incurable diseases. Plasmid DNA is a popular choice of nucleic acid for cell engineering due to its low cost and stability. However, plasmid DNA must survive the…
We study the partitioning of motile bacteria in an aqueous two-phase mixture of dextran (DEX) and polyethylene glycol (PEG), which can phase separate into DEX-rich and PEG-rich phases. While non-motile bacteria partition exclusively into…
We have functionalized the sides of fd bacteriophage virions with oligonucleotides to induce DNA hybridization driven self-assembly of high aspect ratio filamentous particles. Potential impacts of this new structure range from an entirely…
We assume that a message may be delivered by packets through multiple hops and investigate the feasibility and efficiency of an implementation of the Omega Failure Detector under such an assumption.To motivate the study, we prove that the…
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spurred unprecedented and concerted worldwide research to curtail and eradicate this pathogen. SARS-CoV-2 has four structural proteins:…
The problem of RNA genomes packaged inside spherical viruses is studied. The viral capsid is modeled as a hollowed sphere. The attraction between RNA molecules and the inner viral capsid is assumed to be non-specific and occurs at the inner…
Cell polarization underlies many cellular processes, such as differentiation, migration, and budding. Many living cells, such as budding yeast and fission yeast, use cytoskeletal structures to actively transport proteins to one location on…
In natural environments, solid surfaces present both opportunities and challenges for bacteria. On one hand, they serve as platforms for biofilm formation, crucial for bacterial colonization and resilience in harsh conditions. On the other…
We show that a chemostat community of bacteria and bacteriophage in which bacteria compete for a single nutrient and for which the bipartite infection network is perfectly nested is permanent, a.k.a. uniformly persistent, provided that…
Single kinesin molecular motors can processively move along a microtubule (MT) a few micrometers on average before dissociating. However, cellular length scales over which transport occurs are several hundred microns and more. Why seemingly…
The bacterial flagellar motor drives the rotation of flagellar filaments and enables many species of bacteria to swim. Torque is generated by interaction of stator units, anchored to the peptidoglycan cell wall, with the rotor. Recent…
The viruses studied are genetically engineered, charged, semiflexible filamentous bacteriophages that are structurally identical to M13 virus, but differ either in contour length or surface charge. While varying contour length (L) we assume…
With their longest dimension typically being less than 100 nm, molecular motors are significantly below the optical-resolution limit. Despite substantial advances in fluorescence-based imaging methodologies, labeling with beads remains…
Based on a recent model of evolving viruses competing with an adapting immune system [1], we study the conditions under which a viral quasispecies can maximize its growth rate. The range of mutation rates that allows viruses to thrive is…
Although carbon nanotubes are potential candidates for DNA encapsulation and subsequent delivery of biological payloads to living cells, the thermodynamical spontaneity of DNA encapsulation under physiological conditions is still a matter…
Recent experimental and theoretical approaches have attempted to quantify the physical organization (compaction and geometry) of the bacterial chromosome with its complement of proteins (the nucleoid). The genomic DNA exists in a complex…
Biological transport is supported by collective dynamics of enzymatic molecules that are called motor proteins or molecular motors. Experiments suggest that motor proteins interact locally via short-range potentials. We investigate the…
The persistent dynamics of active particles makes them explore extended portions of an obstacle's boundary during collisions. From impact to escape, the net applied forces depend on the curvature of the wall and increase in the presence of…
The term bacteriophage means killer or eater of bacteria. They were initially discovered by F.W. Twort and later on, Felix d'Herelle unveiled them to the world in 1910. Phage therapy has arisen as a favorable option to conventional…
At the cutting edge of materials science, matter is designed to self-organize into structures that perform a wide range of functions. The past two decades have witnessed major innovations in the versatility of building blocks, ranging from…