Nanoscale biophysics articles from across Nature Portfolio

By combining different microscopy techniques, olive leaf surfaces are shown to be chemically heterogeneous due to the occurrence of trichomes which have mixed hydrophilic-hydrophobic areas at the nanoscale level.

Single molecule investigations are often performed in fluidic environments, but molecular diffusion and limited photon counts can compromise studies of processes with fast or slow dynamics. The authors introduce a planar optofluidic antenna which enhances the fluorescence signal from molecules, applicable to a diverse range of studies.

This Review summarizes differences in several mechanical properties that play a role in human cancer development, at the cell and tissue levels. Comprehensive cell and tissue quantitative mechanical properties are provided based on cancer types and organs of origin.

A DNA-based nanorobotic arm connected to a base plate through a flexible joint can be used to store and release mechanical energy. The joint acts as a torsion spring that is wound up by rotating the arm using external electric fields and is released using a high-frequency electrical pulse.

Sequencing of proteins is a technically difficult task that typically requires digestion into short peptides before detection and identification. We developed a digestion-free method to chemically unfold and ‘scan’ full-length proteins through a nanopore, producing electrical fingerprints unique to individual protein molecules that are useful in their identification.

A paper in Physical Review Letters shows how algae cells collectively form different patterns in response to light.

A paper in Nature Physics shows how the collective chiral motion of malaria single-cell organisms in mosquito saliva is driven by their physical properties

A paper in Science Advances shows how the transition of bacteria cells from collective active swarms to biofilms is driven by both biological and physical mechanisms.