Subcellular structures are distinct, spatially organized physical systems within cells, encompassing membrane-bound organelles (e.g., mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes), non-membranous bodies (e.g., ribosomes, cytoskeleton, centrosomes), and specialized compartments (e.g., nucleolus, stress granules). They are defined by specific molecular compositions, biophysical properties, and emergent functions such as energy transduction, macromolecular synthesis, intracellular trafficking, signal transduction, and mechanical support. As physical systems, they exhibit dynamic self-assembly, phase separation, and regulated turnover, and their organization is governed by principles of thermodynamics, molecular crowding, and active processes driven by nucleotide hydrolysis and cytoskeletal forces.
Optimal packing problems have inspired mathematicians for centuries. Biophysicists now add a layer to the question: How do chloroplasts arrange themselves optimally within cells, when the meaning of "optimal" changes over ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 23, 2025
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17
Motor proteins are tiny "machines" inside cells that use chemical energy to move along molecular tracks and carry out essential processes like chromosome segregation during cell division. When a cell splits to make two new ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 21, 2025
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81
Lipids are fatty molecules that play critical roles in cell function, including membrane structure, energy storage and nutrient absorption. Most lipids are made in a cell organelle called the endoplasmic reticulum, but specific ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 16, 2025
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26
How does skin hold you in? How do heart cells beat together? Researchers at the University of California, Davis, Department of Biomedical Engineering, are exploring how structures called desmosomes, which stick cells together, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 14, 2025
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61
Some cells, such as immune cells, are highly mobile—they constantly remodel their shape, migrate toward a wound that needs to be closed or chase down bacteria in the bloodstream. This mobility is provided by the cytoskeleton, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 13, 2025
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22
For the first time, researchers have successfully fabricated and characterized a fully functional mirror-image nanopore—a molecular gateway built entirely from D-amino acids, the mirror-image forms of the natural building ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 11, 2025
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149
Researchers from EeroQ, the quantum computing company pioneering electron-on-helium technology, have published a paper, titled "Sensing and Control of Single Trapped Electrons Above 1 Kelvin," in Physical Review X that details ...
Quantum Physics
Oct 9, 2025
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147
A heretofore unknown molecular mechanism helps plants save water in extreme drought and intense sunlight. A research team at Heidelberg University's Center for Organismal Studies (COS), in cooperation with partners at Nanjing ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 9, 2025
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23
Cellular membrane proteins play many important roles throughout the body, including transporting substances in and out of the cell, transmitting signals, speeding up reactions and helping neighboring cells stick together. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 7, 2025
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122
Just like in yeast and animal cells, vacuoles in plants are responsible for breaking down unwanted cellular components. At the same time, vacuoles in seeds also serve the opposite role—storing large amounts of proteins that ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 6, 2025
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22
