Browse our latest Physics of Living Systems articles

Compressing the actomyosin network by cortical flow causes filaments to align and form a constricting ring.

Recent reports on the ability of biological molecules to sense magnetic fields are found to be inconsistent with basic physical principles.

The overall energy conversion efficiency is calculated for a bacterial vesicle that harvests solar energy for ATP production on the basis of an atomic-detail structural model.

The ability of hair cells to produce an electrical signal in response to a mechanical stimulus stems from tension in the elastic tip links within the bundles.

The self-organised beat of cilia and flagella is dynamically regulated by curvature.

Computational and theoretical models reveal mechanisms by which protein compartments assemble around enzymes and reagents to facilitate reactions in bacteria, allowing the identification of strategies for reengineering such compartments as customizable nanoreactors.

A homopolymer-sphere model is shown to accurately reproduce the interactions that underpin selective gating of macromolecular transport into and out of the cell nucleus.

Simple biophysical considerations explain the collective behavior of molecularly diverse complex protein assemblies that regulate transport between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in eukaryotic organisms.

A new approach measures the respective participations of elementary cell behaviors – such as cell division, intercalation, shape change and death – in the shaping of animal tissues.