Related papers: Cytoplasmic streaming in C. elegans: forces that d…
In living cells, molecular motors create activity that enhances the diffusion of particles throughout the cytoplasm, and not just ones attached to the motors. We demonstrate initial steps toward creating artificial cells that mimic this…
Unlike their model membrane counterparts, biological membranes are richly decorated with a heterogeneous assembly of membrane proteins. These proteins are so tightly packed that their excluded area interactions can alter the free energy…
We utilize cosmological simulations of 16 galaxy clusters at redshifts \zeq{0} and \zeq{0.6} to study the effect of inflowing streams on the properties of the X-ray emitting intracluster medium. We find that the mass accretion occurs…
The intracellular environment is a dynamic space filled with various organelles moving in all directions. Included in this diverse group of organelles are vesicles, which are involved in transport of molecular cargo throughout the cell.…
The thermochemical evolution of planetesimals is an underprobed stage of volatile delivery to terrestrial planets during their formation, and may contribute to the volatile depletion of the Earth relative to primitive chondrites. We have…
Let $g:\mathbb{R}^2\to\mathbb{R}$ be a homogeneous polynomial of degree $p>1$, $G=(-g'_{y}, g'_{x})$ be its Hamiltonian vector field, and $G_t$ be the local flow generated by $G$. Denote by $E(G,O)$ the space of germs of $C^{\infty}$…
Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) have a characteristic length scale given by the pitch of the twisted stacking of their constituent rod-like molecules. Under homeotropic anchoring conditions where the molecules prefer to orient…
The molecules in lyotropic membranes are typically aligned with the surface normal. When these molecules are chiral, there is a tendency for the molecular direction to twist. These competing effects can reach a compromise by producing…
The nonlinear development of streaming instabilities in the current layers formed during magnetic reconnection with a guide field is explored. Theory and 3-D particle-in-cell simulations reveal two distinct phases. First, the parallel…
We study the effect of the crowded nature of the cellular cytoplasm on the translocation of a polymer through a pore in a membrane. By systematically treating the entropic penalty due to crowding, we show that the translocation dynamics are…
The dynamics of a plasmoid chain is studied with three dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. The evolution of the system with and without a uniform guide field, whose strength is 1/3 the asymptotic magnetic field, is investigated. The…
Angiogenesis recapitulates the growth of blood vessels that progressively expand and remodel into a highly organized and stereotyped vascular network. During adulthood, endothelial cells that formed the vascular wall retain their plasticity…
For natural microswimmers, the interplay of swimming activity and external flow can promote robust motion, e.g. propulsion against ("upstream rheotaxis") or perpendicular to the direction of flow. These effects are generally attributed to…
Catalytically active Janus particles suspended in solution create gradients in the chemical composition of the solution along their surfaces, as well as along any nearby container walls. The former leads to self-phoresis, while the latter…
Cells collectively migrate as a cluster in three-dimensional (3D) tissues, such as in embryogenesis and cancer invasion. Here, numerical simulations using a 3D vertex model show that polarized interfacial tension, expressing cell adhesion…
The movement of the infective form of the T. Cruzi parasite within the human blood is not completely understood. Video microscopy observations confirm forward motility of the protozoa and relate it to the deformation of the body,…
Electrolyte-filled channels with modulated wall charge distribution subjected to an applied DC electric field, form time-independent vortices whose sense of circulation is determined by the field direction [Physical Review Letters $…
We consider an anisotropically two-dimensional diffusion of a charged molecule (particle) through a large biological channel under an external voltage. The channel is modeled as a cylinder of three structure parameters: radius, length, and…
Recent experiments by Kantsler et. al. (2007) have shown that the relaxational dynamics of a vesicle in external elongation flow is accompanied by the formation of wrinkles on a membrane. Motivated by these experiments we present a theory…
Natural bacterial habitats are often complex fluids with viscoelastic and anisotropic responses to stress; for example, they can take the form of liquid crystals (LCs), with elongated microscopic constituents that collectively align while…