Related papers: Mesoscopic heterogeneity in biomolecular condensat…
The packaging of genetic material within a protein shell, called the capsid, marks a pivotal step in the life cycle of numerous single-stranded RNA viruses. Understanding how hundreds, or even thousands, of proteins assemble around the…
The effect of sequence heterogeneity on polynucleotide translocation across a pore and on simple models of molecular motors such as helicases, DNA polymerase/exonuclease and RNA polymerase is studied in detail. Pore translocation of RNA or…
Shape had been intuitively recognized to play a dominant role in determining the global motion patterns of bio-molecular assemblies. However, it is not clear exactly how shape determines the motion patterns. What about the local…
To date, the mechanisms underlying the diversity of the emergent patterns of collective motion in locust hopper bands remain to be unveiled. This study investigates the role of speed heterogeneity in the emergence of the most common…
Formation and rupture of vesicles is a fundamental process underlying diverse phenomena in biology, materials science, and biomedical applications. Vesicles form when the area of a growing disk-like membrane exceeds a critical value at…
Through three examples we illustrate some of the concepts and ingredients required for pattern formation at mesoscopic scales. Two examples build on microscopic models where mesoscopic patterns emerge from homogeneous ground states driven…
Bacterial chromosome replication occurs in the absence of a canonical spindle apparatus; yet it reliably produces organised and segregated genomes. While both passive and active mechanisms have been investigated, DNA replication itself is a…
Recent experimental and theoretical approaches have attempted to quantify the physical organization (compaction and geometry) of the bacterial chromosome with its complement of proteins (the nucleoid). The genomic DNA exists in a complex…
For the first time the phenomenon of cellular structure coarsening are consistently analysed from the positions of kinetic, hydrodynamic and stochastodynamic theories of nonequilibrium statistical systems. Thereby micro-, meso- and…
Non-linear behavior in interstellar chemical models has been recognized for 25 years now. Different mechanisms account for the possibility of multiple fixed-points at steady state, characterized by the ionization degree of the gas. Chemical…
Proteins are the fundamental macromolecules that play diverse and crucial roles in all living matter and have tremendous implications in healthcare, manufacturing, and biotechnology. Their functions are largely determined by the sequences…
Biological condensates are assemblies of proteins and nucleic acids that form membraneless compartments in cells and play essential roles in cellular functions. In many cases they exhibit the physical properties of liquid droplets that…
Meso-scale turbulence was originally observed experimentally in various suspensions of swimming bacteria, as well as in the collective motion of active colloids. The corresponding large-scale dynamical patterns were reproduced in a simple…
Biological systems, unlike physical or chemical systems, are characterized by the very inhomogeneous distribution of their components. The immune system, in particular, is notable for self-organizing its structure. Classically, the dynamics…
Intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDRs) are found across all domains of life and are characterized by a lack of stable 3D structure. Nevertheless, IDRs play critical roles in the most tightly regulated cellular processes, including…
Coupling between chemical fuel consumption and phase separation can lead to condensation at a nonequilibrium steady state, resulting in phase behaviors that are not described by equilibrium thermodynamics. Theoretical models of such…
In cell membranes, proteins and lipids are organized into sub-micrometric nanodomains of varying size, shape and composition, performing specific functions. Despite their biological importance, the detailed morphology of these nanodomains…
Motile bacteria can migrate along chemical gradients in a process known as chemotaxis. When exposed to uniform environmental stress, Escherichia coli cells coordinate their chemotactic responses to form millimeter-sized condensates…
Experiments show that macromolecular crowding modestly reduces the size of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) even at volume fraction ($\phi$) similar to that in the cytosol whereas DNA undergoes a coil-to-globule transition at very…
A hallmark of meso-scale interfacial fluids is the multi-faceted, scale-dependent interfacial energy, which often manifests different characteristics across the molecular and continuum scale. The multi-scale nature imposes a challenge to…