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We consider the impact of surface hydrodynamics on the interplay between curvature and composition in coarsening processes on model systems for biomembranes. This includes scaling laws and equilibrium configurations, which are investigated…
Relationships between sediment flux and geomorphic processes are combined with statements of mass conservation, in order to create continuum models of hillslope evolution. These models have parameters which can be calibrated using available…
Recently, long and slender living worms have garnered significant interest because of their impressive ability to exhibit diverse emergent behaviors in highly entangled physical and topological conditions. These worms can form an active…
A solute-blocking model is presented that provides a kinetic explanation of osmosis and ideal solution thermodynamics. It validates a diffusive model of osmosis that is distinct from the traditional convective flow model of osmosis. Osmotic…
It is not currently possible to create a living organism ab initio due to the overwhelming complexity of biological systems. In fact, the origin of life mechanism, this being how biological organisms form from non-living matter, is unknown.…
This review article discusses some common enhanced sampling methods in relation to the process of self-assembly of biomolecules. An introduction to self-assembly and its challenges is covered followed by a brief overview of the methods and…
Most stars, perhaps even all stars, form in crowded stellar environments. Such star forming regions typically dissolve within ten million years, while others remain bound as stellar groupings for hundreds of millions to billions of years,…
Depending on multiple parameters, soft robots can exhibit different modes of locomotion that are difficult to model numerically. As a result, improving their performance is complex, especially in small-scale systems characterized by low…
We introduce an exactly solvable statistical-mechanical model of the hydration of non-polar compounds, based on grouping water molecules in clusters where hydrogen bonds and isotropic interactions occur; interactions between clusters are…
The transport of deformable particles through porous media underlies a wealth of applications ranging from filtration to oil recovery to the transport and spreading of biological agents. Using direct numerical simulations, we analyze the…
Additives are essential to enhance or modify the properties of plastics for target applications. However, finding appropriate additives may be challenging, since we lack knowledge on their interactions with the plastics and with moisture,…
In conflict with standard notions of thermodynamics, mesoscopically-sized inclusions (``clusters'') of a solute-rich liquid have been observed in equilibrated solutions of proteins and other molecules. According to a complexation scenario…
Results from recent space missions, in particular Spitzer and Herschel, have lead to significant progress in our understanding of the formation and transport of water from clouds to disks, planetesimals, and planets. In this review, we…
After hydrogen and helium, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen - hereinafter, the CNO elements - are the most abundant species in the universe. They are observed in all kinds of astrophysical environments, from the smallest to the largest scales,…
Many cytoskeletal biopolymers are "active," consuming energy in large quantities. In this Letter, we identify a fundamental difference between active polymers and passive, equilibrium polymers: for equal mean lengths, active polymers can…
Considering the density-density correlation function of a concentrated polymer solution with multicomponent solvent we find a phase transition due to the heterogeneity of excluded volume constant. This new phase transition implies a strong…
Terrestrial exoplanets in the canonical habitable zone may have a variety of initial water fractions due to random volatile delivery by planetesimals. If the total planetary water complement is high, the entire surface may be covered in…
From an astrobiological point of view, special attention has been paid to the probability of habitable planets in extrasolar systems. The purpose of this study is to constrain a possible range of the mass of a terrestrial planet that can…
Polymers consisting of more than one type of monomer, known as copolymers, are vital to both living and synthetic systems. Copolymerisation has been studied theoretically in a number of contexts, often by considering a Markov process in…
Fluid transport in microfluidic systems typically is laminar due to the low Reynolds number characteristic of the flow. The inclusion of suspended polymers imparts elasticity to fluids, allowing instabilities to be excited when substantial…