Browse Physics

Simulations show that when a particle trapped in a fluid-filled pipe moves, it can affect distant particles in the pipe and even pull them in the opposite direction.

Time-lapse images of DNA molecules in a bacterial cell reveal the forces that can inhibit diffusion.

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?

If the mechanism that allows birds to navigate is chemical in nature, the tools of quantum information might be in the driver’s seat.

New ways to describe the spread of “persistent” diseases, which can lie dormant in the population for years, are emerging from statistical physics.

DNA replication slows if the number of defects in a genome is above a threshold value.

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

Simulations suggest that a set of cells in the eye can act like optical fibers to guide light through obscuring layers to the cells that detect light.

Fruit flies make acrobatic turns by controlling just one parameter, according to high-speed video data.

Experiments show that swimming microorganisms can change a fluid’s viscosity. Not all of the effects can be explained by current theories.

Three papers explain aspects of the size and structure of natural supply networks such as blood vessels and leaf veins.

Relatively small tension in a DNA strand can have large effects on its ability to control the expression of genes.

Detailed images of surface waves on the membrane of a living cell support a theory that the protein machinery involved in the cell’s locomotion are responsible for the waves.

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

A new technique provides a 3-D view of the organized motion of swimming bacteria.

The shapes of “binding proteins” contribute to the ease with which they can diffuse along DNA until they reach a specific sequence.

Computer simulations explain how proteins can slide along strands of DNA looking for a target sequence without getting stuck.

Faster does not mean more precise—a new view of how proteins diffuse and bind to a specific site on the DNA reassesses the role noise plays in the biochemical production line that creates biomolecules from genes.

A new laser-based technique can directly probe the coupling of electrons in photosynthetic proteins and other complex systems.

Physicists present the mechanism of a DNA-based molecular motor that is fueled by a catalytic reaction and walks in one direction along a reusable track.