Biophysics

Washington, DC — Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a deadly and rapidly progressing disease with no cure. The disease involves abnormal interactions between lung cells, including fibroblasts, and their surrounding environment. Because of this, standard 2D cell culture models used for drug screening tend to perform poorly when predicting response to potential therapies. Amid the […]

Quebec, Canada — Visible light is extremely important in nature. Seen by the human eye, it is the most intense light emitted by the sun to reach the earth’s surface and is an essential element for fundamental biological processes underlying life. However, it is difficult to generate coherent visible light, like the light of a […]

Washington, DC — Whole-heart ventricular modelling has come a long way in recent years and is currently witnessing the evolution of a variety of computational approaches, especially within the realm of personalized technologies for patient-specific clinical applications. Ventricular arrhythmias, which are abnormal heartbeats, are one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. To pursue a better […]

Princeton, NJ — The heady math that describes how bubbles form in a glass of Champagne has inspired a framework for engineering living cells. A study published Sep. 22 in Nature details how an established physics theory governing bubble and droplet formation led to a new understanding of the principles organizing the contents of living cells. The […]

Washington, DC — At more than 2 meters long, the human DNA molecule uses intricate folding patterns to fit into cells while locally unfolding to express genes. Such phenomena, however, are difficult to measure in experiments, and theoretical frameworks explaining them continue to be at odds with one another.  Researchers in Italy, Japan, and Poland […]

Gaithersburg, MD — Researchers have spent more than three decades developing and studying miniature biosensors that can identify single molecules. In five to 10 years, when such devices may become a staple in doctors’ offices, they could detect molecular markers for cancer and other diseases and assess the effectiveness of drug treatment to fight those […]

Saarbrücken, Germany — There are many different types of cancer, but they all have one thing in common: errors in the signals that control normal cell behaviour can cause uncontrolled cell growth and cell division, leading to a tumour. An enzyme called SHP2 plays a key role in this regard. SHP2 is a signalling molecule […]

Frederiksberg, Denmark — How do the billions of cells communicate in order to perform tasks? The cells exert force on their environment through movement – and in doing so, they communicate. They work as a group in order to infiltrate their environment, perform wound healing and the like. They sense the stiffness or softness of […]

Tempe, AZ — Photocatalysts are useful materials, with a myriad of environmental and energy applications, including air purification, water treatment, self-cleaning surfaces, pollution-fighting paints and coatings, hydrogen production and CO2 conversion to sustainable fuels. An efficient photocatalyst converts light energy into chemical energy and provides this energy to a reacting substance, to help chemical reactions […]

Tokyo, Japan — Cancer therapy in recent times relies on the use of several drugs derived from biological sources including different bacteria and viruses, among others. However, these bio-based drugs get easily degraded and therefore inactivated on administration into the body. Thus, effective delivery to and release of these drugs at target tumor sites are […]

Nagoya, Japan — Nagoya University scientists in Japan have demonstrated how DNA-like molecules could have come together as a precursor to the origins of life. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, not only suggest how life might have begun, but also have implications for the development of artificial life and biotechnology applications.  “The RNA […]

Munich, Germany — Biophysicists from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have shown that a phenomenon known as diffusiophoresis, which can lead to a directed particle transport, can occur in biological systems. In order to perform their biological functions, cells must ensure that their logistical schedules are implemented smoothly, such that the necessary molecular cargoes are delivered […]