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.
Chirality—the property of an object that is distinct from its mirror image—has long captivated scientists across biology, chemistry, and physics. The phenomenon is sometimes called "handedness," because it refers to an object ...
Condensed Matter
May 7, 2025
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282
A new study uncovers how fine-tuning the interactions between two distinct network-forming species within a soft gel enables programmable control over its structure and mechanical properties. The findings reveal a powerful ...
Soft Matter
May 6, 2025
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51
Knots are generally understood to form due to twists and turns of long, flexible materials that keep shoes on your feet or frustrate your attempts at hanging holiday decorations. A beam of light doesn't sound like a material ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 17, 2025
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97
The practice of purposely looping thread to create intricate knit garments and blankets has existed for millennia. Though its precise origins have been lost to history, artifacts like a pair of wool socks from ancient Egypt ...
General Physics
Feb 21, 2025
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501
A team of physicists at Fudan University, working with colleagues from Henan University, both in China, and from Nanyang Technological University, in Singapore and Donostia International Physics Center, in Spain, has developed ...
A trio of physicists from the University of Rennes, Aoyama Gakuin University, and the University of Lyon have discovered, through experimentation, that it is friction between fibers that allows knitted fabrics to take on ...
Exploiting an ingenious combination of photochemical (i.e., light-induced) reactions and self-assembly processes, a team led by Prof. Alberto Credi of the University of Bologna has succeeded in inserting a filiform molecule ...
Nanomaterials
Dec 27, 2024
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169
A newly developed approach can precisely produce four-stranded β-sheets through metal–peptide coordination, report researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo. Their innovative methodology overcomes long-standing challenges ...
Bio & Medicine
Dec 10, 2024
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18
We tie our shoes, we put on neckties, we wrestle with power cords. Yet despite deep familiarity with knots, most people cannot tell a weak knot from a strong one by looking at them, new Johns Hopkins University research finds.
General Physics
Dec 9, 2024
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717
Can insights from topology—the study of the properties of 3D objects that persist when an object is stretched or compressed—be applied in the field of quantum information processing? Juan Lin, Shou-Bang Yang, Fan Wu, and ...
Quantum Physics
Dec 4, 2024
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