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A protein undergoes conformational dynamics with multiple time scales, which results in fluctuating enzyme activities. Recent studies in single molecule enzymology have observe this "age-old" dynamic disorder phenomenon directly. However,…
What can cells gain by using disordered, rather than folded, proteins in the architecture of their skeleton? Disordered proteins take multiple co-existing conformations, and often contain segments which act as random-walk-shaped polymers.…
Multisite protein phosphorylation plays a pivotal role in regulating cellular signaling and decision-making processes. In this study, we focus on the mathematical underpinnings and informational aspects of sequential, distributive…
Large-scale force generation is essential for biological functions such as cell motility, embryonic development, and muscle contraction. In these processes, forces generated at the molecular level by motor proteins are transmitted by…
The Unfolded Protein Response is the cell mechanism for maintaining the balance of properly folded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum , the specialized cellular compartment. Although it is largely studied from a biological point of view,…
The relationship between interactions, flexibility and disorder in proteins has been explored from many angles: folding upon binding, flexibility of the core relative to the periphery, entropy changes, etc. In this work, we provide…
The implementation of natural and artificial proteins with designer properties and functionalities offers unparalleled opportunity for functional nanoarchitectures formed through self-assembly. However, to exploit the opportunities offered…
Protein phosphorylation is a reversible post-translational modification commonly used by cell signaling networks to transmit information about the extracellular environment into intracellular organelles for the regulation of the activity…
Fibrous networks are ideal functional materials since they provide mechanical rigidity at low weight. Such structures are omnipresent in natural biomaterials from cells to tissues, as well as in man-made materials from polymeric composites…
Collagen is the most abundant extracellular-network-forming protein in animal biology and is important in both natural and artificial tissues, where it serves as a material of great mechanical versatility. This versatility arises from its…
Cellular functions are established through biological evolution, but are constrained by the laws of physics. For instance, the physics of protein folding limits the lengths of cellular polypeptide chains. Consequently, many cellular…
Mutations in proteins can have deleterious effects on a protein's stability and function, which ultimately causes particular diseases. Genetically inherited muscular dystrophies (MDs) include several genetic diseases, which cause increasing…
Networks of filamentous proteins play a crucial role in cell mechanics. These cytoskeletal networks, together with various crosslinking and other associated proteins largely determine the (visco)elastic response of cells. In this letter we…
Post-transductional modifications tune the functions of proteins and regulate the collective dynamics of biochemical networks that determine how cells respond to environmental signals. For example, protein phosphorylation and nitrosylation…
We report a detailed study of neuromorphic switching behaviour in inherently complex percolating networks of self-assembled metal nanoparticles. We show that variation of the strength and duration of the electric field applied to this…
Network analysis provides a powerful framework for the interpretation of genome-wide data. While static network approaches have proved fruitful, there is increasing interest in the insights gained from the analysis of cellular networks…
Protein nanoclustering is a characteristic feature of their activated state and is essential for forming numerous subcellular structures. The formation of these nanoclusters is highly dependent on a series of post-translational…
The promise of discovering a functional blueprint of a cellular system from large-scale and high-throughput sequence and experimental data is predicated on the belief that the same top-down investigative approach that proved successful in…
Geometric and structural constraints greatly restrict the selection of folds adapted by protein backbones, and yet, folded proteins show an astounding diversity in functionality. For structure to have any bearing on function, it is thus…
Self-assembly of matter in solution generally relies on attractive interactions that overcome entropy and drive the formation of higher-order molecular and particulate structures. Such interactions play key roles in a variety of contexts,…