Browse Physics

A model describing the brain as a system close to a phase transition can capture the global dynamics of brain activity observed in fMRI experiments.

A new way to characterize the encoding of signals from the retina defines a distance between different stimuli according to the similarity of their neural responses.

Advances in extracting an image from a multimode optical fiber will make thinner endoscopes possible.

With a simple ball and stick model, theorists explain how the two flagella on a swimming alga become synchronized.

Measurements with live retinal rod cells reveal their capacity for detecting the statistical properties of different light sources.

Drug gradients may give bacteria an evolutionary boost towards antibiotic resistance.

Experiments show that the times required to cross the barrier for the folding and unfolding of different nucleic acids are consistently about a few microseconds, despite many orders of magnitude differences in rate coefficients.

The discovery of ferroelecticity in mammalian tissue makes researchers wonder what its purpose is and what it may be useful for.

Experiments on tumorlike collections of cells suggest that mechanical stress can play a role in limiting tumor growth.

According to new calculations, prolonged chemical oscillations that occur in the metabolic process of glycolysis can be linked to a single enzyme.

Theoretical analysis of periodic RNA modifications in a simple biochemical reactor reveals emergent evolutionary properties.

Folds on the surface of soft materials are shown to be a consequence of a nonlinear instability.

Building simplified genetic networks in a test tube could help us better understand biological systems.

A temperature effect could allow us to dynamically change the stochastic behavior of certain colloidal particles.

Direct measurements show that the fluid flow around swimming microorganisms is more complex than previously thought, with important implications for how they interact and behave.

New simulations show that a high concentration of molecules can significantly increase the rate of reaction between two molecules, but does the setup reflect realities of biochemical reactions inside cells?

An alternative to a needle for penetrating cells may be found in the precise and forceful fluid jet created by two bubbles expanding and collapsing in tandem.

New analyses suggest strategies by which biological sensors may be able to measure changes in concentrations of chemical signaling molecules more accurately, but does this reflect what actually happens in nature?

Researchers develop a new approach to measuring the viscoelastic properties of multicellular aggregates by using a micropipette aspiration technique.

Simulations provide insight into how viscous flow transforms the shapes of red blood cells, which may influence their physiological properties.