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 …

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 …

ATP‐dependent chromatin remodelling complexes use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to
reposition and reconfigure nucleosomes. Despite their diverse functions, all remodellers …

Forces hold everything together and determine its structure and dynamics. In particular, tiny
forces of 1-100 piconewtons govern the structures and dynamics of biomacromolecules …

In recent years, highly stable optical tweezers systems have enabled the characterization of
the dynamics of molecular motors at very high resolution. However, the motion of many …

Single-molecule optical-trapping experiments are now resolving the smallest units of motion
in biology, including 1-base-pair steps along DNA. This review initially concentrates on the …

Hidden Markov modeling (HMM) has revolutionized kinetic studies of macromolecules.
However, results from HMM often violate detailed balance when applied to the transitions …

Characterizing the collective functions of cytoskeletal motors is critical to understanding
mechanisms that regulate the internal organization of eukaryotic cells as well as the roles …

In the last two decades, the single particle and single molecule approach became more and
more popular to investigate the activity and the mechano-chemical properties of biological …

Abstract Hidden Markov models (HMMs) provide an excellent analysis of recordings with
very poor signal/noise ratio made from systems such as ion channels which switch among a …