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The nuclear pore supports molecular communication between cytoplasm and nucleus in eukaryotic cells. Selective transport of proteins is mediated by soluble receptors, whose regulation by the small GTPase Ran leads to cargo accumulation in,…
Nuclear pore complexes are constantly confronted by large fluxes of macromolecules and macromolecular complexes that need to get into and out of the nucleus. Such bi-directional traffic occurring in a narrow channel can easily lead to…
The more we learn about the cytoplasm of cells, the more we realise that the cytoplasm is not uniform but instead is highly inhomogeneous. In any inhomogeneous solution, there are concentration gradients, and particles move either up or…
To maintain homeostasis, living cells process information with networks of interacting molecules. Traditional models for cellular information processing have focused on networks of chemical reactions between molecules. Here, we describe how…
Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are very selective filters that monitor the transport between the cytoplasm and the nucleoplasm. Two models have been suggested for the plug of the NPC. They are (i) it is a reversible hydrogel or (ii) it is a…
Active cellular transport is a fundamental mechanism for protein and vesicle delivery, cell cycle and molecular degradation. Viruses can hijack the transport system and use it to reach the nucleus. Most transport processes consist of…
The biological cell exhibits a fantastic range of behaviors, but ultimately these are governed by a handful of physical and chemical principles. Here we explore simple theory, known for decades and based on the simple thermodynamics of…
Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) mediate the exchange of materials between the nucleoplasm and cytoplasm, playing a key role in the separation of nucleic acids and proteins into their required compartments. The static structure of the NPC is…
The internal dynamics of strongly interacting systems and that of biomolecules such as proteins display several important analogies, despite the huge difference in their characteristic energy and length scales. For example, in all such…
In tissues, cells in direct physical contact with each other can exchange ions or molecules via protein clusters called gap junctions that form channels across the membranes of adjacent cells. Here, we use a simplified biomimetic approach,…
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…
Recent studies have suggested that the Nuclear Pore Complex (NPC) plays a significant role in mechanotransduction. When a force is exerted, the NPC's diameter widens, leading to an increased molecular flux into the nucleus. In this study,…
Phase separation and transitions among different molecular states are ubiquitous in living cells. Such transitions can be governed by local equilibrium thermodynamics or by active processes controlled by biological fuel. It remains largely…
Chemically active droplets provide simple models for cell-like systems that can grow and divide. Such active droplet systems are driven away from thermodynamic equilibrium and turn over chemically, which corresponds to a simple metabolism.…
While ubiquitous, energy redistribution remains a poorly understood facet of the nonequilibrium thermodynamics of biomolecules. At the molecular level, finite-size effects, pronounced nonlinearities, and ballistic processes produce behavior…
Photosynthesis is arguably the fundamental process of Life, since it enables energy from the Sun to enter the food-chain on Earth. It is a remarkable non-equilibrium process in which photons are converted to many-body excitations which…
The cytoplasm and biomembranes in biological cells contain large numbers of proteins that cyclically change their shapes. They are molecular machines that can function as molecular motors or carry out many other tasks in the cell. We…
Transport of liquid mixtures through porous membranes is central to processes such as desalination, chemical separations and energy harvesting, with ultrathin membranes made from novel 2D nanomaterials showing exceptional promise. Here we…
Nucleation is a key step in the synthesis of new material from solution. Well-established lattice-gas models can be used to gain insight into the basic physics of nucleation pathways involving a single nucleus type. In many situations a…
A novel concept of membrane process in thermal-driven system is proposed for water desalination. By means of molecular dynamics simulations, we show fast water transport through graphene galleries at a temperature gradient. Water molecules…