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Living systems are thermodynamically open but closed in their organization. In other words, even though their material components turn over constantly, a material-independent property persists, which we call organization. Moreover,…
In a variety of different systems, high-Z ion species show a marked tendency to accumulate in regions of high plasma density. It has previously been suggested that the apparent universality of this behavior could be explained…
Extrinsic environmental factors influence the distribution and population dynamics of many organisms, including insects that are of concern for human health and agriculture. This is particularly true for vector-borne infectious diseases,…
Morphogenesis is the ensemble of processes that determines form, shape and patterns in organisms. Based on a reaction-diffusion theoretical setting and some prototype reaction schemes, we make a review of the models and experiments that…
Reheating is a process where the energy density of a dominant component of the universe other than radiation, such as a matter component, is transferred into radiation. It is usually assumed that the temperature of the universe decreases…
Thermophoresis is a transport phenomenon induced by a temperature gradient. Very small objects dispersed in a fluid medium and in a temperature gradient present a non homogeneous steady density. Analysing this phenomenon within the…
Studying exoplanet atmospheres is essential for assessing their potential to host liquid water and their capacity to support life (their habitability). Each atmosphere uniquely influences the likelihood of surface liquid water, defining the…
Thermogenesis is a physiological activity of releasing heat that originates from intracellular biochemical reactions. Recent experimental studies discovered that externally applied heat changes intracellular signaling locally, resulting in…
Communication between cells is realized by exchange of biochemical substances. Due to internal organization of living systems and variability of external parameters, the exchange is heavily influenced by perturbations of various parameters…
Entanglement within a given device provides a potential resource for quantum information processing. Entanglement between system and environment leads to decoherence (thus suppressing non-classical features within the system) but also opens…
The earliest molecular dynamics simulations relied on solving the Newtonian or equivalently the Hamiltonian equations of motion for a system. While pedagogically very important as the total energy is preserved in these simulations, they…
Although osmosis is a familiar phenomenon, and of pivotal importance in natural systems, it is seldom explained how it might work on the molecular level (if treated at all in physics text books). The standard treatment of osmosis in…
Phase separation is the thermodynamic process that explains how droplets form in multicomponent fluids. These droplets can provide controlled compartments to localize chemical reactions, and reactions can also affect the droplets' dynamics.…
Compositional convection is atmospheric mixing driven by density variations caused by compositional gradients. Previous studies have suggested that compositional gradients of atmospheric trace species within planetary atmospheres can impact…
Planktonic active matter represents an emergent system spanning different scales: individual, population and community; and complexity arising from sub-cellular and cellular to collective and ecosystem scale dynamics. This cross-scale…
In recent years, much attention has been paid to the development of techniques which transfer trapped particles to very low temperatures. Here we focus our attention on a heating mechanism which contributes to the finite temperature limit…
Soil is a complex, dynamic material, with physical properties that depend on its biological content. We propose a cellular automaton model for self-organizing soil structure, where soil aggregates and serves as food for microbial species.…
The isotopic composition, for example, 14C/12C, 13C/12C, 2H/1H, 15N/14N and 18O/16O, of the elements of matter is heterogeneous. It is ruled by physical, chemical and biological mechanisms. Isotopes can be employed to follow the fate of…
Biological active matter like the cytoskeleton or tissues are characterized by their ability to transform chemical energy into mechanical stress. In addition, it often exhibits orientational order, which is essential for many cellular and…
Cooling processes in nature are typically generated by external contact with a cold reservoir or bath. According to the laws of thermodynamics, the final temperature of a system is determined by the temperature of the environment. Here, we…