Browse our latest Physics of Living Systems articles

Signatures of criticality that have been observed across diverse neural systems, such as power-law avalanche distributions and exponent relationships, can arise without fine-tuning in networks coupled to latent, dynamical variables.

In-built competing effects are present at different levels in signaling networks, starting from basic biochemical building blocks to the network level, and mathematical and computational analysis reveals when they give rise to biphasic responses and what the consequences are.

Using cytosolic explants from Drosophila syncytial embryos combined with quantitative microscopy and perturbations, the mechanical forces separating Drosophila microtubule asters are revealed.

Unraveling the ultrafast polar tube ejection in microsporidia reveals extreme cellular hydraulics, providing a data-driven model for infectious cargo transport, with implications for physical approaches to understanding microsporidia transmission.

Nuclear pore complex mimics based on solid-state nanopores show significant selectivity below a diameter of 55 nm, which decreases gradually for larger pore diameters.

Fish schools showed an U-shaped metabolism-speed curve and reduced the energy use per tail beat up to 56% at high swimming speeds compared to solitary fish.

High-resolution simulations of evolving microbial populations reveal that microscopic epistasis slows the rate of adaptation, while clonal interference can either speed it up or leave it fixed.

Quantitative analysis of cell dynamics over a range of timescales reveals that core PCP is not required to organize large-scale tissue flows but does affect short timescale mechanics.

Information transduction capacity of mammalian cells is high and varies substantially from cell to cell.

A new platform that can follow the movement of individual proteins inside millions of cells in a single day will help contribute to existing knowledge of cell biology and identify new therapeutics.