Related papers: Hitchhiking Through the Cytoplasm
Many cellular processes require a polarization axis which generally initially emerges as an inhomogeneous distribution of molecular markers in the cell. We present a simple analytical model of a general mechanism of cell polarization taking…
We investigate a driven two-channel system where particles on different lanes mutually obstruct each others motion extending an earlier model by Popkov and Peschel [1]. This obstruction may occur in biological contexts due to steric…
Biomolecular motors use free energy to drive a variety of cellular tasks, including the transport of cargo, such as vesicles and organelles. We find that the widely-used `constant-force' approximation for the effect of cargo on motor…
We discuss possible quantum mechanical aspects of MicroTubules (MT), based on recent developments in quantum physics.We focus on potential mechanisms for `energy-loss-free' transport along the microtubules, which could be considered as…
Hybrid models of chemotaxis combine agent-based models of cells with partial differential equation models of extracellular chemical signals. In this paper, travelling wave properties of hybrid models of bacterial chemotaxis are…
We study the role of microtubule movement in bidirectional organelle transport in Drosophila S2 cells and show that EGFP-tagged peroxisomes in cells serve as sensitive probes of motor induced, noisy cytoskeletal motions. Multiple…
The motility of eukaryotic cells is strongly influenced by their environment, with confined cells often developing qualitatively different motility patterns from those migrating on simple two-dimensional substrates. Recent experiments,…
Large cells often rely on cytoplasmic flows for intracellular transport, maintaining homeostasis, and positioning cellular components. Understanding the mechanisms of these flows is essential for gaining insights into cell function,…
Living cells exhibit multi-mode transport that switches between an active, self-propelled motion and a seemingly passive, random motion. Cellular decision-making over transport mode switching is a stochastic process that depends on the…
We present a hybrid method based on a combination of quantum/classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and a mod el Hamiltonian approach to describe charge transport through bio-molecular wires with variable lengths in presence o f a…
Eukaryotic cells and intracellular pathogens such as bacteria or viruses utilize the actin polymerization machinery to propel themselves forward. Thereby, the onset of motion and choice of direction may be the result of a spontaneous…
In cells, organelles and vesicles are usually transported by cooperation of several motor proteins, including plus-end directed motor kinesin and minus-end directed motor dynein. Many biophysical models have been constructed to understand…
Correlated velocity patterns and associated large length-scale transmission of traction forces have been observed in collective live cell migration as a response to a "wound". We argue that a simple physical model of a force-driven…
Cells control fluid flows with a spatial and temporal precision that far exceeds the capabilities of current microfluidic technologies. Cells achieve this superior spatio-temporal control by harnessing dynamic networks of cytoskeleton and…
From biofilm and colony formation in bacteria to wound healing and embryonic development in multicellular organisms, groups of living cells must often move collectively. While considerable study has probed the biophysical mechanisms of how…
A mechanism responsible for the directed transport and molecular separation in a symmetric channel is proposed. We found that under the action of spatial harmonic oscillations of the channel, the system exhibits a directed transport in…
The ability of eukaryotic cells to squeeze through constrictions is limited by the stiffness of their large and rigid nucleus. However, migrating cells are often able to overcome this limitation and pass through constrictions much smaller…
Cytoskeletal networks, which are essentially motor-filament assemblies, play a major role in many developmental processes involving structural remodeling and shape changes. These are achieved by nonequilibrium self-organization processes…
Recent experiments indicated that disorder effect in DNA may lead to a transition of the charge transport mechanism from band resonant tunnelling to thermal activated hopping. In this letter, based on Mott's variable-range hopping theory we…
The origin of biological motion can be traced back to the function of molecular motor proteins. Cytoplasmic dynein and kinesin transport organelles within our cells moving along a polymeric filament, the microtubule. The motion of the…