Conformation & topology as a research area investigates the three-dimensional arrangements and spatial organization of atoms, molecules, and macromolecular assemblies, and how these geometric and topological features govern physical, chemical, and biological behavior. It encompasses conformational analysis of flexible molecules, energy landscapes, and transition pathways, as well as topological descriptors such as knots, links, and entanglements in polymers, proteins, nucleic acids, and materials. The field integrates theoretical models, computational simulations, and experimental techniques (e.g., spectroscopy, scattering, single-molecule methods) to relate structural ensembles and topological invariants to function, dynamics, stability, and self-assembly across molecular and supramolecular systems.
Biological tissues have a remarkable ability to organize and change shape, driven by forces generated by their own cells. One of the major challenges in bioengineering is harnessing this natural behavior to design synthetic ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 16, 2026
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Scientists from Skoltech and the University of Potsdam have developed a physical theory that sheds light on how molecular motors organize the three-dimensional structure of the genome. Using theoretical polymer physics and ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 16, 2026
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14
Inside every cell, a cleanup operation runs around the clock. Proteins are constantly damaged by wear and tear. Some can be repaired, while others must be dismantled and recycled. When this system fails, damaged proteins ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 15, 2026
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5
For many people, "protein" is the key element of a food order. However, beyond the preferred choice of meats or plant-based alternatives, proteins encompass a large class of complex biomolecules whose chemical structure is ...
Biotechnology
Mar 27, 2026
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45
CRISPR is a powerful DNA-editing tool that has underpinned huge advancements in human health care in the last decade. It is a precision tool, but is not perfect, and misplaced DNA edits can compromise safety and efficacy, ...
Biotechnology
Mar 26, 2026
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In the earliest phase of creating human proteins, the protein complex NAC performs an essential task by starting the first steps toward folding proteins into their correct three-dimensional structures. An international research ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 23, 2026
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128
When bacteria cells replicate, they do so a little differently than human cells do. They don't undergo mitosis, a splitting that involves construction of spindles to carefully separate the DNA after replication. Instead, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 20, 2026
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In new research published in Physical Review X, scientists have designed quantum control protocols that generate processes more consistent with time flowing backward than forward. The protocols—techniques to control quantum ...
Quantum Physics
Mar 20, 2026
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A team of US researchers has gained new insights into how large protein molecules consistently fold themselves into useful shapes. Using a new approach to fluorescence microscopy, Hoi Sung Chung and colleagues at the National ...
Alzheimer's disease affects millions of people around the world. To study this condition, researchers must peer inside the distinctive environment of the human brain. but for scientists to get the most accurate picture of ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 12, 2026
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