Self-assembly as a research area investigates the spontaneous organization of components into ordered structures driven by local interactions and thermodynamic or kinetic principles, without direct external manipulation of each element. It encompasses molecular, nanoscale, and mesoscale systems where noncovalent forces (e.g., van der Waals, electrostatic, hydrophobic, hydrogen bonding) or specific binding interactions encode structural information. Research focuses on understanding design rules, energy landscapes, and defect formation, as well as developing programmable systems (e.g., DNA origami, block copolymers, colloidal crystals) for applications in materials science, nanotechnology, and biotechnology, often linking equilibrium self-assembly with nonequilibrium and hierarchical assembly processes.
Astrobiology has long been split into two camps: a search for "biosignatures" and a search for "intelligence." These look for very different things, but they also leave a huge gap in between. It took 3.5 billion years for ...
Astrobiology
Jul 14, 2026
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Mathematics has always been at the core of securing information. From online banking to government communications, modern society relies on cryptography, in which complex mathematical algorithms transform readable information ...
Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have taken an important step toward developing intelligent molecular materials. The team headed by Dr. Bernd M. Schmidt (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 6, 2026
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Researchers from UNSW Sydney have built the first artificial protein motor capable of taking controlled, directional steps along a DNA track. The protein, dubbed Tumbleweed, moves by alternating between three "feet" that ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 6, 2026
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43
The formation of supramolecular polymers within living cells is an emerging strategy for regulating cellular functions, and lipid droplets (LDs) are promising environments for such processes. LDs are cellular organelles composed ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 6, 2026
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Scientists discovered a protein secreted by a deep-sea extremophile—an organism adapted to extreme environmental conditions—that self-assembles into a biofilm and is highly stable, boosting its potential for biomedical applications.
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 29, 2026
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7
A research team has developed a methodology to precisely design and control the "degree of disorder" in nanopattern arrays using metal-infiltrated block copolymer (BCP) thin films. The work was led by Professor So Youn Kim ...
Nanophysics
Jun 28, 2026
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Living cells constantly exchange ions (i.e., charged particles) via the thin barrier that surrounds their interior, known as the outer membrane. Neuroscientists and medical researchers have long been trying to devise effective ...
Scientists from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Malaga, who are also members of the Institute of Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture "La Mayora" (IHSM), have discovered a previously unknown mechanism ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 23, 2026
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This April, when the spring breeze carried the formal acceptance notice of our paper by the Journal of the American Chemical Society to my desk, my thoughts instantly drifted back to the late Phil Geissler. A legendary physical ...
