Related papers: Spontaneous sarcomere dynamics
Skeletal muscle is subjected to simultaneous time-varying neural stimuli and length changes in vivo. Work loops are experimental representations of these in vivo conditions and exhibit force versus length responses that are not explainable…
We present a continuum model for the mechanical behavior of the skeletal muscle tissue when its functionality is reduced due to aging. The loss of ability of activating is typical of the geriatric syndrome called sarcopenia. The material is…
We perform extended numerical simulation of the dynamics of dry friction, based on a model derived from the phenomenological description proposed by T. Baumberger et al.. In the case of small deviation from the steady sliding motion, the…
We study fluctuations in the drag force experienced by an object moving through a granular medium. The successive formation and collapse of jammed states give a stick-slip nature to the fluctuations which are periodic at small depths but…
Living cells inherently reorganize their intracellular structures in response to mechanical cues from their environment. Among these responses, the formation of actin-based stress fibers exhibits a series of structural transitions depending…
Autonomous oscillations in biological systems may have a biochemical origin or result from an interplay between force-generating and visco-elastic elements. In molecular motor assemblies the force-generating elements are molecular engines…
The spontaneous generation of electrical activity underpins a number of essential physiological processes, and is observed even in tissues where specialized pacemaker cells have not been identified. The emergence of periodic oscillations in…
Non-processive molecular motors have to work together in ensembles in order to generate appreciable levels of force or movement. In skeletal muscle, for example, hundreds of myosin II molecules cooperate in thick filaments. In non-muscle…
Understanding cellular response to mechanical forces is immensely important for a plethora of biological processes. Focal adhesions are multi-molecular protein assemblies that connect the cell to the extracellular matrix and play a pivotal…
The spontaneous emergence of contraction-inducing electrical activity in the uterus at the beginning of labor remains poorly understood, partly due to the seemingly contradictory observation that isolated uterine cells are not spontaneously…
The structural reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton is facilitated through the action of motor proteins that crosslink the actin filaments and transport them relative to each other. Here, we present a combined experimental-computational…
Recent experiments in various cell types have shown that two-dimensional tissues often display local nematic order, with evidence of extensile stresses manifest in the dynamics of topological defects. Using a mesoscopic model where tissue…
We studied regenerating bilayered tissue toroids dissected from Hydra vulgaris polyps and relate our macroscopic observations to the dynamics of force-generating mesoscopic cytoskeletal structures. Tissue fragments undergo a specific…
We analyze free energy estimators from simulation trials mimicking single-molecule pulling experiments on a neck linker of a kinesin motor. For that purpose, we have performed a version of steered molecular dynamics (SMD) calculations. The…
We discuss a two-dimensional model for the dynamics of axonemal deformations driven by internally generated forces of molecular motors. Our model consists of an elastic filament pair connected by active elements. We derive the dynamic…
The feedback between mechanical and chemical signals plays a key role in controlling many biological processes and collective cell behavior. Here we focus on the emergence of spatiotemporal density waves in a one-dimensional "cell train."…
Using molecular dynamics we study the dependence of the friction force on the sliding speed when an elastic slab (block) is sliding on a rigid substrate with a ${\rm sin} (q_0 x)$ surface height profile. The friction force is nearly…
We present an analytical theory for heteropolymer deformation, as exemplified experimentally by stretching of single protein molecules. Using a mean-field replica theory, we determine phase diagrams for stress-induced unfolding of typical…
Living cells exhibit an important out-of-equilibrium mechanical activity, mainly due to the forces generated by molecular motors. These motor proteins, acting individually or collectively on the cytoskeleton, contribute to the violation of…
Tissue remodelling in diverse developmental contexts require cell shape changes that have been associated with pulsation and flow of the actomyosin cytoskeleton. Here we describe the dynamics of the actomyosin cytoskeleton as a confined…