New method to study cellular behavior using smart materials

Scientists from 4D-BIOMAP, an ERC research project at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), have developed a new experimental method, based on magneto-active polymers, to study cellular behavior. These compounds, which ...

What happens when plants have stress reactions to touch

A 30-year-old genetic mystery has been solved. It has previously been established that touch can trigger stress reactions in plants. However, the molecular models for explaining this process have been quite spartan so far. ...

Enhancing the electromechanical behavior of a flexible polymer

Piezoelectric materials convert mechanical stress into electricity, or vice versa, and can be useful in sensors, actuators and many other applications. But implementing piezoelectrics in polymers—materials composed of molecular ...

Independent stress response makes octocorals more robust

Coral reefs are among the most species-rich ecosystems on the planet. Octocorals, which include soft corals, gorgonians, and sea pens, are important members of these marine communities. They could even outcompete reef-building ...

First evidence of microtubules' mechanosensitive behavior

Inside cells, microtubules not only serve as a component of the cytoskeleton (cell skeleton) but also play a role in intracellular transport. In intracellular transport, microtubules act as rails for motor proteins such as ...

Dynamic twists and loops can enable DNA to modulate its function

When people think of DNA, they visualize a string-like double helix structure. In reality, the DNA double helix in cells is supercoiled and constrained into loops. This supercoiling and looping are known to influence every ...

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