Life is characterized by a myriad of complex dynamic processes allowing organisms to grow,
reproduce, and evolve. Physical approaches for describing systems out of thermodynamic …

A molecular motor is made of either a single macromolecule or a macromolecular complex.
Just like their macroscopic counterparts, molecular motors “transduce” input energy into …

Bundles of filaments and motors are central to contractility in cells. The classic example is
striated muscle, where actomyosin contractility is mediated by highly organized sarcomeres …

Many cellular processes require molecular motors to produce motion and forces. Single
molecule experiments have led to a precise description of how a motor works. Under most …

An introduction to the physical properties of living active matter at the mesoscopic scale
(tens of nanometers to micrometers) and their unique features compared with “dead,” …

Major transformations of cells during embryonic development are traditionally associated
with the activation or inhibition of genes and with protein modifications. The contributions of …

We formulate and characterize a model to describe the dynamics of semiflexible polymers in
the presence of activity due to motor proteins attached irreversibly to a substrate, and a …

Fluid-resistance limited transport of vesicles through narrow constrictions is a recurring
theme in many biological and engineering applications. Inspired by the motor-driven …

We present a detailed calculation that enables us to estimate the reversal time of a
molecular motor assembly that displays bidirectional motion in the limit of weak noise. We …

Bidirectional motion is an example of collective behavior of molecular motors. It occurs at
finite noise level in a nonequilibrium system. We consider this problem as a first exit …