Biopolymers in vivo articles within Nature Physics

Featured

  • Article |

    Cytoplasmic flows in the fruit fly oocyte can reorganize cellular components. These structured vortical flows arise through self-organizing dynamics of microtubules, molecular motors and cytoplasm.

    • Sayantan Dutta
    • , Reza Farhadifar
    •  & Michael J. Shelley

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Filaments of the FtsZ protein can form chiral assemblies. Now, active matter tools link the microscopic structure of active filaments to the large-scale collective phase of these assemblies.

    • Zuzana Dunajova
    • , Batirtze Prats Mateu
    •  & Martin Loose

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many organelles in the cell are not encapsulated in a membrane—they are liquid-like domains formed through phase separation. The liquid-like nature of such domains leads to adhesive interactions between the cytoskeleton filaments and organelles.

    • Thomas J. Böddeker
    • , Kathryn A. Rosowski
    •  & Eric R. Dufresne

  • Article |

    The cell cortex stiffens during cell division, facilitating the necessary shape changes. Microrheology measurements now reveal that the rest of the cell interior actually softens, in a process that probably involves two key biomolecules trading roles.

    • Sebastian Hurst
    • , Bart E. Vos
    •  & Timo Betz

  • Article |

    High-resolution experiments attribute surprisingly large forces to the molecular motors helping a cell sense its surroundings. A two-state theory interprets the contractile properties of these motors as emergent features of their collective behaviour.

    • James Lohner
    • , Jean-Francois Rupprecht
    •  & Michael P. Sheetz

  • Article |

    Actomyosin networks with rapid turnover self-organize within droplets, forming a dynamic steady-state with persistent flows. The networks exhibit homogeneous, density-independent contraction, implying that active stress scales with viscosity.

    • Maya Malik-Garbi
    • , Niv Ierushalmi
    •  & Kinneret Keren

  • Review Article |

    It may look like little more than slime, but the glycocalyx coating our cells plays a key role in cell signalling. And changes to its physical structure have been linked to cancer, triggering emergent behaviours that form the focus of this Review.

    • Joe Chin-Hun Kuo
    • , Jay G. Gandhi
    •  & Matthew J. Paszek

  • News & Views |

    Magnetic tweezer measurements have revealed the forces associated with a star-shaped structure responsible for moving the sperm nucleus to the centre of the egg cell following fertilization.

    • Carlos Garzon-Coral
    •  & Jonathon Howard

  • Progress Article |

    The internal structure of cells is organized into compartments, many of which lack a confining membrane and instead resemble viscous liquid droplets. Evidence is mounting that these compartments form via spontaneous phase transitions.

    • Clifford P. Brangwynne
    • , Peter Tompa
    •  & Rohit V. Pappu

  • Article |

    A study of an actomyosin active gel now demonstrates the importance of the crosslinking density of actin polymers in enabling myosin motors to internally drive contraction and rupture the network into clusters. These results could help us to better understand the role of the cytoskeleton in cell division and tissue morphogenesis.

    • José Alvarado
    • , Michael Sheinman
    •  & Gijsje H. Koenderink

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