(Phys.org) —Strong, thin fibers called microfilaments, or actin filaments, are present in the cytoplasm of almost every cell in the body. By growing and shrinking, actin filaments play a major role in cellular movement. ...
(Phys.org) —For next-generation smart devices, autonomy is key. These devices will be able to power themselves, independently respond to stimuli, and perform different kinds of work, all without human intervention. With ...
(Phys.org) —Proteins accomplish something rather amazing: A protein can have many functions, with a given function being determined by the way they fold into a specific three-dimensional geometry, or conformations. Moreover, ...
(Phys.org) —In a world where things seem to change overnight, melanin seems to stay essentially the same for more than 160 million years, a new study has found. Melanin is the biological pigment that determines an animal's ...
(Phys.org) —While the natural world is replete with compounds that form the basis of many disease-fighting pharmaceuticals, it is also the case that humans and other mammals produce their own host-defense peptide-derived ...
(Phys.org)—Photosynthesis, cellular respiration and many other biological processes have something in common: long-range electron transfer (ET), the simplest known chemical reaction that is known to occur efficiently high ...
(Phys.org) -- Algae constitute a widespread, highly varied group of primarily photosynthetic organisms found in many ecological niches. The roughly estimated 300,000 species range in size and complexity from small to very ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have a good overall understanding of human vision: when light enters our eyes, it is focused by the lens and strikes the retina in the back of the eye. The light causes some of the millions of ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- To study the behavior of large protein complexes and long DNA chains in solution, researchers use so-called molecular traps. However, earlier traps have proven ineffective when working with small molecules ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- By using light to change the elasticity of a DNA molecule, scientists have designed a molecular motor that can turn light into mechanical work. Unlike most previously reported molecular motors, the proposed ...
