Zigzag patterns created by circular motion of growing stems The post Sunflowers ‘dance’ together to share sunlight appeared first on Physics World ..read more

Researchers determine 3D architecture of the amyloid-beta and tau proteins that aggregate in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease The post Cryo-electron tomography reveals structure of Alzheimer’s plaques and tangles in the brain appeared first on Physics World ..read more

Barbora Špačková on moving from theoretical to experimental physics and the joy of refining her technology for real-world applications The post Peering inside the biological nano-universe: Barbora Špačková on unveiling individual molecules moving in real time appeared first on Physics World ..read more

For the first time, two researchers in the US have observed the intricate folding and unfolding of “cellular origami”. Through detailed observations, Eliott Flaum and Manu Prakash at Stanford University discovered helical pleats in the membrane of a single-celled protist, which enable the organism to reversibly extend to over 30 times its own body length. The duo now hopes that the mechanism could inspire a new generation of advanced micro-robots. A key principle in biology is that a species’ ability to survive is intrinsically linked with the physical structure of its body. One group of organ ..read more

A new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique maps the location of cells labelled with light-emitting molecules even when they are located deep within organs and other tissues. The technique, which works by detecting changes in blood vessels triggered by the presence of bioluminescent proteins, overcomes a major limitation of optical imaging. It could find use in biomedical applications such as probing tumour growth, measuring changes in gene expression and studying brain cell function. Biologists often use light-emitting proteins to label cells, as it enables them to follow processes such ..read more

Understanding how birds react to each other’s songs can shed light on their behaviour and communication in the wild. But such studies require a way to generate realistic-sounding synthetic birdsong. To achieve this, a team from the University of Buenos Aires has used mathematical modelling to synthesize a fake birdsong that’s credible enough to prompt wild birds to respond. The researchers – Roberto Bistel, Ana Amador and Gabriel Mindlin – studied the rufous-collared sparrow, a highly territorial songbird. The sparrow’s song comprises a brief theme composed of 2–4 notes, followed by a trill, w ..read more

Scientists in the US have simulated the transport of nutrients through maturing egg cells such as those found in newly formed embryos. Using a simple system comprising microtubules, motors and a fluid, they showed that tornado-like vortex flows allow critical components needed for egg cell development to mix and be transported rapidly around the cell. The work advances our understanding of how egg cells nourish themselves – a key process in organism growth and development. Maturing egg cells, or oocytes, can be much bigger than other types of cells. This is because they must contain everything ..read more

Because there’s not much oxygen deep underground, the bacteria that live there have evolved other ways to get rid of the electrons they produce when they “breathe”. One of these workarounds involves sending out conductive filaments – nanowires – into the soil to disperse the electrons, but important details of this process have eluded biophysicists’ understanding. Researchers at Yale University, US and NOVA University Lisbon in Portugal have now found that for bacteria in the genus Geobacter, a single protein family acts like a series of electrically connecting “plugs” for charging these micro ..read more

How many fish make up a school? It sounds like one of those trick questions, but physicists at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and the University of Bristol have now found an answer. To do so they fitted a “bowl-shaped” aquarium at Bristol University with cameras to track the three-dimensional trajectories of zebrafish, studying group sizes of two, three, four and fifty fish (Nature Comms 15 2591). The researchers then used methods from statistical physics to analyse swimming patterns and deduce the minimum group size where individual movements change and become coordinated group patterns ..read more

Can you explain the origin of life on Earth using the principles of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics? It’s not a question that even physics students see in their more challenging assignments. But it is one that Liam Graham – physicist turned economist – attempts to answer in his debut book Molecular Storms: the Physics of Stars, Cells and the Origin of Life. Throughout Molecular Storms, Graham uses a light, informal tone with a measured injection of humour to keep readers on a direct path from the laws of thermodynamics to the inception of biological diversity. He begins by painting a ..read more