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Skyrmion is a topologically protected spin texture excited in magnetic thin films. The radii of skyrmions are typically 10-100 nm. Because of the size, the skyrmion is expected to be a candidate for memory and novel-device usages. To…
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…
Cell crawling requires the generation of intracellular forces by the cytoskeleton and their transmission to an extracellular substrate through specific adhesion molecules. Crawling cells show many features of excitable systems, such as…
Ring, or cyclic, polymers have unique properties compared to linear polymers, due to their topologically closed structure that has no beginning or end. Experimental measurements on molecular ring polymers are challenging due to their…
Proteases regulate various aspects of the life cycle in all organisms by cleaving specific peptide bonds. Their action is so central for biochemical processes that at least 2% of any known genome encodes for proteolytic enzymes. Here we…
The effect of interactions on dynamics of coupled motor proteins is investigated theoretically. A simple stochastic discrete model, that allows to calculate explicitly the dynamic properties of the system, is developed. It is shown that…
Polymers with active segments constitute prospective future materials and are used as a model for some biological systems such as chromatin. The directions of the active forces are typically introduced with temporal or spatial correlations…
Rigidity analysis using the "pebble game" can usefully be applied to protein crystal structures to obtain information on protein folding, assembly and the structure-function relationship. However, previous work using this technique has not…
Recently single molecule experiments have shown the importance of internal friction in biopolymer dynamics. Such studies also suggested that the internal friction although independent of solvent viscosity has strong dependence on denaturant…
The population-averaged contact maps generated by the chromosome conformation capture technique provide important information about the average frequency of contact between pairs of chromatin loci as a function of the genetic distance…
Active loop extrusion - the process of formation of dynamically growing chromatin loops due to the motor activity of DNA-binding protein complexes - is firmly established mechanism responsible for chromatin spatial organization at different…
The mechanosensitivity of cells, which determines how they are able to respond to mechanical signals received from their environment, is crucial for the functioning of all biological systems. In experiments, cells placed on cyclically…
The symmetries of the DNA double helix require a new term in its linear response to stress: the coupling between twist and stretch. Recent experiments with torsionally-constrained single molecules give the first direct measurement of this…
Kinesins are processive motor proteins that move along microtubules in a stepwise manner, and their motion is powered by the hydrolysis of ATP. Recent experiments have investigated the coupling between the individual steps of single kinesin…
Dynamical systems (DSs) provide a framework for high flexibility, robustness, and control reliability and are widely used in motion planning and physical human-robot interaction. The properties of the DS directly determine the robot's…
Nanoscale polymeric thin films are widely used in diverse applications such as energy devices, flexible electronics and biosensors, where a satisfactory mechanical performance is of vital importance to realize their full functionality. It…
Despite significant fluctuation under thermal noise, biological machines in cells perform their tasks with exquisite precision. Using molecular simulation of a coarse-grained model and theoretical arguments we envisaged how kinesin, a…
The classic model of eukaryotic gene expression requires direct spatial contact between a distal enhancer and a proximal promoter. Recent Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) studies show that enhancers and promoters are embedded in a…
Actomyosin networks are major structural components of the cell. They provide mechanical integrity and allow dynamic remodeling of eukaryotic cells, self-organizing into the diverse patterns essential for development. We provide a…
Collapsin response mediator protein CRMP2 (gene: DPYSL2) is crucial for neuronal development. The homotetrameric CRMP2 complex is regulated via two mechanisms, first by phosphorylation at, and second by reduction and oxidation of the Cys504…