Surfactants, micelles, and vesicles constitute a class of self-assembled soft-matter physical systems arising from amphiphilic molecules in solution. Above the critical micelle concentration, surfactants spontaneously form micelles, typically spherical or anisotropic aggregates with hydrophobic cores and hydrophilic coronas, governed by minimization of interfacial free energy and packing constraints. At higher concentrations or appropriate conditions (e.g., temperature, ionic strength, tail architecture), these assemblies can transition into bilayer-based vesicles, closed shell structures encapsulating aqueous volumes and exhibiting bending elasticity, membrane tension, and permeability properties. Collectively, these systems serve as model platforms for studying interfacial thermodynamics, mesoscale organization, and transport phenomena in complex fluids.
Scientists at the VIB–VUB Center for Structural Biology have uncovered a counterintuitive principle that could reshape how membrane proteins are designed from scratch: Sometimes, making a protein less stable helps it fold ...
Biotechnology
Apr 13, 2026
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University of Mississippi research offers hope that cancer drug therapies packaged in 3D-printed carriers could deliver medication directly to tumors while reducing many of the side effects that cancer patients endure. In ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 6, 2026
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17
Researchers at Aarhus University have developed a microscopic DNA needle that can deliver molecules directly into cells—and, crucially, help make sure they remain active once they get there. That addresses a major problem ...
Bio & Medicine
Apr 1, 2026
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100
Nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA play a central role in gene therapies and vaccines. They store and transmit biological information. In order for them to work in the body, they must enter the cells using chemical carrier ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 26, 2026
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51
Biological membranes of cells and their subunits (organelles) are organized into tiny regions (nanodomains) made up of fats (lipids) and proteins. Those specialized regions carry out important tasks for the cell, such as ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 24, 2026
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11
New experimental results have cast doubt on earlier proposals suggesting that spherical, cell-like membranes could form in the methane lakes of Saturn's largest moon. Through results published in Science Advances, Tuan Vu ...
Lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, best known as the delivery vehicle for the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines received by billions of people, are now at the center of a much larger medical revolution. Researchers are racing to use them ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 11, 2026
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43
For the first time, researchers in France and Israel have observed how an emulsified liquid droplet can transform from a hexagon into a six-pointed star shape in response to rising temperature. Publishing their results in ...
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are tiny biological bubbles that carry nucleic acids and proteins between cells, playing an essential role in tissue repair, neuroprotection and immune health. By isolating the surface proteins ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 23, 2026
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55
Drugs made of mRNA have the potential to transform medicine—if only they could get into cells in one piece. Now, University of Connecticut researchers have shown that packaging mRNA like a virus could smuggle it into cells ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 23, 2026
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