Optical tweezers have become the method of choice in single-molecule manipulation
studies. In this Primer, we first review the physical principles of optical tweezers and the …

Homologous recombination maintains genomic integrity by repairing broken chromosomes.
The broken chromosome is partially resected to produce single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) that …

Dynamic RNA molecules carry out essential processes in the cell including translation and
splicing. Base-pair interactions stabilize RNA into relatively rigid structures, while flexible …

Tensegrity, or tensional integrity, is a property of a structure indicating a reliance on a
balance between components that are either in pure compression or pure tension for …

Single polymer dynamics offers a powerful approach to study molecular-level interactions
and dynamic microstructure in materials. Direct visualization of single polymer chains has …

The study of the conformation properties of macromolecules is at the heart of polymer
science. Essentially all physical properties of polymers are manifestations of the underlying …

Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) plays a major role in several biological processes. It is
therefore of fundamental interest to understand how the elastic response and the formation …

Short single-stranded nucleic acids are ubiquitous in biological processes; understanding
their physical properties provides insights to nucleic acid folding and dynamics. We used …

Measuring the mechanical properties of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) is a challenge that
has been addressed by different methods lately. The short persistence length, fragile …

The details surrounding the crossover from wormlike-specific to universal polymeric
behavior has been the subject of debate and confusion even for the simple case of a dilute …