Related papers: Solvent constraints for biopolymer folding and evo…
Hydrogels are widespread soft materials, which can serve a wide range of applications. The control over the viscoelastic properties of the gel is of paramount importance. Ongoing environmental issues have raised the consumer's concern…
Using molecular dynamics and thermodynamic integration, we report on the solvation process in water and in cyclohexane of seven polypeptides (GLY, ALA, ILE, ASN, LYS, ARG, GLU). The polypeptides are selected to cover the full hydrophobic…
The global existence and boundedness of solutions to volume-surface reaction diffusion systems with a mass control condition are investigated. Such systems arise typically in e.g. cell biology, ecology or fluid mechanics, when some…
By analytically solving some simple models of phase-ordering kinetics, we suggest a mechanism for the onset of non-equilibrium behaviour in colloid-polymer mixtures. These mixtures can function as models of atomic systems; their physics…
Thousands of exoplanets orbit nearby stars, showcasing a remarkable diversity in mass, size, and orbits. With the James Webb Space Telescope now operational, we are observing exoplanet atmospheres and aiming to reach down to small,…
We present an overview of the recent progress that has been made in understanding the origin of hydrophobic interactions. We discuss the different character of the solvation behavior of apolar solutes at small and large length scales. We…
Biological macromolecules have complex and non-trivial energy landscapes, endowing them a unique conformational adaptability and diversity in function. Hence, understanding the processes of elasticity and dissipation at the nanoscale is…
Recent measurements of microsphere interactions in diverse media suggest that the standard dielectric-continuum models of solution-phase interactions are fundamentally incomplete. Experiments indicate that the interactions of charged…
A fascinating and open question challenging biochemistry, physics and even geometry is the presence of highly regular motifs such as alpha-helices in the folded state of biopolymers and proteins. Stimulating explanations ranging from…
A phenomenological mean-field theory is used to investigate the properties of solvent-diluted di-block copolymers (BCP), in which the two BCP components (A and B) form a variety of phases that are diluted by a solvent (S). Using this…
Microscopic formula to describe the entropy of biomolecular solutions are derived based on the Gibbs formula of entropy, and the generalized Langevin theory combined with the RISM/3D-RISM theory. Two formula are derived: one is concerned…
We use mesoscale simulations to gain insight into the digestion of biopolymers by studying the break-up dynamics of polymer aggregates (boluses) bound by physical cross-links. We investigate aggregate evolution, establishing that the…
Designing soft robots poses considerable challenges: automated design approaches may be particularly appealing in this field, as they promise to optimize complex multi-material machines with very little or no human intervention.…
I describe models for the formation of planetary systems surrounding the remnants of stellar mergers and collisions. I focus primarily on models for the viscous evolution of disks suitable for the formation of the planets surrounding the…
Exact bounds are obtained for the quenched free energy of a polymer with random hydrophobicities in the presence of an interface separating a polar from a non polar solvent. The polymer may be ideal or have steric self-interactions. The…
Self-assembling, semi-flexible polymers are ubiquitous in biology and technology. However, there remain conflicting accounts of the equilibrium kinetics for such an important system. Here, by focusing on a dynamical description of a minimal…
It is currently unknown how common life is on exoplanets, or how long planets can remain viable for life. To date, we have a superficial notion of habitability, a necessary first step, but so far lacking an understanding of the detailed…
The habitability of terrestrial exoplanets orbiting M dwarfs is a key topic in the search for extraterrestrial life. The climates of these planets differ significantly from the Earth's due to their likely tidal locking, resulting in a…
We study the effects of two kinds of interactions in tube-like polymers and demonstrate that they result in the formation of secondary motifs. The first has an entropic origin and is a measure of the effective space available to the…
We address the problem of inverse polymer swelling. This phenomenon, in which a collapsed polymer chain swells upon decreasing temperature, can be observed experimentally in so-called thermoreversible homopolymers in aqueous solution, and…