Related papers: Balancing at the edge of excitability: Implication…

Physical thermodynamic and kinetic, chemical and biological reasoning restrict the spatial dimensions of living cells and confine them to between one and one hundred micrometers. Cells should necessarily be macroscopic, dissipative objects,…

Chemotaxis plays a crucial role in a variety of processes in biology and ecology. Quite often it acts to improve efficiency of biological reactions; one example is the immune system signalling, where infected tissues release chemokines…

Many cellular components are present in such low numbers that individual stochastic production and degradation events lead to significant fluctuations in molecular abundances. Although feedback control can, in principle, suppress such…

Cell signaling, gene expression, and metabolism are affected by cell-cell heterogeneity and random changes in the environment. The effects of such fluctuations on cell signaling and gene expression have recently been studied intensively…

Adhesive cell-substrate interactions are crucial for cell motility and are responsible for the necessary traction that propels cells. These interactions can also change the shape of the cell, analogous to liquid droplet wetting on adhesive…

Biomembranes are thin capacitors with the unique feature of displaying phase transitions in a physiologically relevant regime. We investigate the voltage and lateral pressure dependence of their capacitance close to their chain melting…

Cells adapt to changing environments by sensing ligand concentrations using specific receptors. The accuracy of sensing is ultimately limited by the finite number of ligand molecules bound by receptors. Previously derived physical limits to…

After application of a step stimulus, in the form of a sudden change in attractant environment, the receptor activity and tumbling bias of an {\sl E. coli} cell change sharply to reach their extremal values before they gradually relax to…

Exchange of biochemical substances is essential way in establishing communication between bacterial cells. It is noticeable that all phases of the process are heavily influenced by perturbations of either internal or external parameters.…

We examine the impact of the intrinsic molecular reorganization energy on switching in two-state quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) cells. Switching a bit involves an electron transferring between charge centers within the molecule. This…

Cell polarity and movement are fundamental to many biological functions. Experimental and theoretically studies have indicated that interactions of certain proteins lead to the cell polarization which plays a key role in controlling the…

Sensory adaptation enables organisms to adjust their perception in a changing environment. A paradigm is bacterial chemotaxis, where the output activity of chemoreceptors is adapted to different baseline concentrations via receptor…

Mechanical cues from the extracellular microenvironment play a central role in regulating the structure, function and fate of living cells. Nevertheless, the precise nature of the mechanisms and processes underlying this crucial cellular…

Accurate gradient sensing is crucial for efficient chemotaxis in noisy environments, but the relationship between cell shape deformations and sensing accuracy is not well understood. Using a theoretical framework based on maximum likelihood…

Efficient and reliable energy systems are key to progress of society. High performance batteries are essential for widely used technologies like Electric Vehicles (EVs) and portable electronics. Additionally, an effective Battery Management…

We propose a minimal mathematical model to explain long-range coordination of dynamics of multiple cells in epithelial spreading, which may be induced, under different conditions, by a chemical signal, or mechanical stress, or both. The…

Chemical reactions inside cells are generally considered to happen within fixed-size compartments. Needless to say, cells and their compartments are highly dynamic. Thus, such stringent assumptions may not reflect biochemical reality, and…

Feedback in sensory biochemical networks can give rise to bifurcations in cells' behavioral response. These bifurcations share many properties with thermodynamic critical points. Evidence suggests that biological systems may operate near…

Excitable media, ranging from bioelectric tissues and chemical oscillators to forest fires and competing populations, are nonlinear, spatially extended systems capable of spiking. Most investigations of excitable media consider situations…

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…