Related papers: Thermodynamic and Kinetic Analysis of Sensitivity …
We introduce a quantity, the entropic susceptibility, that measures the thermodynamic importance-for the folding transition-of the contacts between amino acids in model proteins. Using this quantity, we find that only one equilibrium run of…
Kinetic proofreading is an error correction mechanism present in the processes of the central dogma and beyond, and typically requires the free energy of nucleotide hydrolysis for its operation. Though the molecular players of many…
In this work we study the assisted translocation of a polymer across a membrane nanopore, inside which a molecular motor exerts a force fuelled by the hydrolysis of ATP molecules. In our model the motor switches to its active state for a…
Post-transductional modifications tune the functions of proteins and regulate the collective dynamics of biochemical networks that determine how cells respond to environmental signals. For example, protein phosphorylation and nitrosylation…
Cytoskeletal filaments are capable of self-assembly in the absence of externally supplied chemical energy, but the rapid turnover rates essential for their biological function require a constant flux of ATP or GTP hydrolysis. The same is…
Cellular decision-making under stress involves rapid pathway selection despite energy scarcity. Here we demonstrate that thermodynamic constraints actively drive energy-efficient sporulation, where continuous metabolic sources enable system…
Heat dissipation is ubiquitous in living systems, which constantly convert distinct forms of energy into each other. The transport of thermal energy in liquids and even within proteins is well understood but kinetic energy transfer across a…
ATPases cyclically convert chemical energy in the form of ATP gradients into directed motion inside cells. To function, ATPases rely on allosteric communication between at least two binding sites, an internal signaling mechanism that is not…
The TGF-beta pathway plays a central role in tissue homeostasis and morphogenesis. It transduces a variety of extracellular signals into intracellular transcriptional responses that control a plethora of cellular processes, including cell…
The cell cytoskeleton is a striking example of "active" medium driven out-of-equilibrium by ATP hydrolysis. Such activity has been shown recently to have a spectacular impact on the mechanical and rheological properties of the cellular…
Glycerol titration distinguished from free water the local hydration shell involved in ATPase transition from active to inactive, with cooperativity for water n=16. Rat brain cortex: NE-stimulated and its basal AC in the absence of free…
The high accuracy exhibited by biological information transcription processes is due to kinetic proofreading, i.e., by a mechanism which reduces the error rate of the information-handling process by driving it out of equilibrium. We provide…
Protein functions in cells may be activated or modified by the attachment of several kinds of chemical groups. While protein phosphorylation, i.e. the attachment of a phosphoryl (PO$_3^-$) group, is the most studied form of protein…
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) underpins modern molecular biology, yet its deployment in emerging domains such as DNA data storage and distributed diagnostics remains constrained by bulky thermocyclers, complex thermal hardware, and…
Phototrophic organisms such as plants, photosynthetic bacteria and algae use microscopic complexes of pigment molecules to absorb sunlight. Within the light-harvesting complexes, which frequently have several functional and structural…
The thermodynamic (TD) properties of biological membranes play a central role for living systems. It has been suggested, for instance, that nonlinear pulses such as action potentials (APs) can only exist if the membrane state is in vicinity…
To sustain metabolism, intracellular ATP concentration must be regulated within an appropriate range. This coordination is achieved through the function of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a cellular "fuel gauge" that is expressed…
Understanding the link between structure and function in proteins is fundamental in molecular biology and proteomics. A central question in this context is whether allostery - where the binding of a molecule at one site affects the activity…
We study the ultrasensitivity of multisite binding processes where ligand molecules can bind to several binding sites, considering more particularly recent models involving complex chemical reactions in phosphorylation systems such as…
Advances in integrated photonics open exciting opportunities for batch-fabricated optical sensors using high quality factor nanophotonic cavities to achieve ultra-high sensitivities and bandwidths. The sensitivity improves with higher…