Related papers: Theoretical limits for sensing through phase separ…
This work reports on two results. At first we revisit the Berg and Purcell calculation that provides a lower bound to the error in concentration measurement by cells, by considering the realistic case when the cell starts measuring the…
We develop a model in the framework of nuclear fragmentation at thermodynamic equilibrium which can be mapped onto an Ising model with constant magnetization. We work out the thermodynamic properties of the model as well as the properties…
Do biological cells sense time by the number of their divisions, a process that ends at senescence? We consider the question "can the cell's perception of time be expressed through the length of the shortest telomere?" The answer is that…
Results for the kinetics of vapor-liquid transitions, following temperature quenches with different densities, are presented from the molecular dynamics simulations of a Lennard-Jones system. For critical density, bicontinuous liquid and…
Understanding molecular structure, dynamics, and reactivity requires bridging processes that occur across widely separated time scales. Conventional molecular dynamics simulations provide atomistic resolution, but their femtosecond time…
Active transport of biomolecular condensates and cell migration in collectives are fundamental to development, homeostasis, and processes such as cancer progression, wound healing, and infection response. Yet how these assemblies are…
Inside every living cell is the cytoplasm: a fluid mixture of thousands of different macromolecules, predominantly proteins. This mixture is where most of the biochemistry occurs that enables living cells to function, and it is perhaps the…
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is currently of great interest in cell biology. LLPS is an example of what is called an emergent phenomenon -- an idea that comes from condensed-matter physics. Emergent phenomena have the…
Many types of cells are able to accurately sense shallow gradients of chemicals across their diameters, allowing the cells to move towards or away from chemical sources. This chemotactic ability relies on the remarkable capacity of cells to…
The proper design of DNA sequences allows for the formation of well defined supramolecular units with controlled interactions via a consecution of self-assembling processes. Here, we benefit from the controlled DNA self-assembly to…
Phase-separated biomolecular condensates with liquid-like properties play a key role in the organization and compartmentalization of the intracellular environment. Condensate-mediated capillary forces acting on membranes drive…
A liquid droplet is fragmented by a sudden pressurized-gas blow, and the resulting droplets, adhered to the window of a flatbed scanner, are counted and sized by computerized means. The use of a scanner plus image recognition software…
Self-propelled particles phase separate into coexisting dense and dilute regions above a critical density. The statistical nature of their stochastic motion lends itself to various theories that predict the onset of phase separation.…
We present a new method for making diffusion models faster to sample. The method distills many-step diffusion models into few-step models by matching conditional expectations of the clean data given noisy data along the sampling trajectory.…
Complex systems are often characterized by the interplay of multiple interconnected dynamical processes operating across a range of temporal scales. This phenomenon is widespread in both biological and artificial scenarios, making it…
Using a unique home-made cell for four-contact impedance spectroscopy of conductive liquid samples, we establish the existence of two low frequency conductivity relaxations in aqueous solutions of gelatin, in both liquid and gel state. A…
We use a continuum model to examine the effect of activity on a phase separating mixture of an extensile active nematic and a passive fluid. We highlight the distinct role of previously considered interfacial active stresses and bulk active…
We theoretically study dynamical excitonic condensates occurring in bilayers with an imposed chemical potential difference and in photodoped semiconductors. We show that optical spectroscopy can experimentally identify phase-trapped and…
Condensation occurs in nonequilibrium steady states when a finite fraction of particles in the system occupies a single lattice site. We study condensation transitions in a one-dimensional zero-range process with a single defect site. The…
We introduce a new model of aggregation of particles where in addition to diffusion and aggregation upon contact, a single unit of mass can dissociate from a conglomerate. This dissociation move conserves the total mass and leads to a…