“The Tao begets the One. One begets all things of the world.” This quote from Tao Te Ching
is still inspiring for scientists in chemistry and materials science: The “One” can refer to a …

Molecular motors are diverse enzymes that transduce chemical energy into mechanical
work and, in doing so, perform critical cellular functions such as DNA replication and …

The ability to apply and measure high forces (> 10 pN) on the nanometer scale is critical to
the development of nanomedicine, molecular robotics, and the understanding of biological …

In the past three decades, the ability to optically manipulate biomolecules has spurred a new
era of medical and biophysical research. Optical tweezers (OT) have enabled experimenters …

The simplest model of DNA mechanics describes the double helix as a continuous rod with
twist and bend elasticity. Recent work has discussed the relevance of a little-studied …

Cyclization of DNA with sticky ends is commonly used to measure DNA bendability as a
function of length and sequence, but how its kinetics depend on the rotational positioning of …

Force spectroscopy experiments use mechanical force as a control factor to regulate the
folding and unfolding process of proteins. Atomic force microscopy has been widely used to …

We present an instrument that combines high-resolution optical tweezers and multicolor
confocal fluorescence spectroscopy. Biological macromolecules exhibit complex …

The mechanics of DNA bending is crucially related to many vital biological processes.
Recent experiments reported anomalous flexibility for DNA on short length scales, calling …

As studies on life sciences progress toward the single-molecule level, new experiments
have put forward more requirements for simultaneously displaying the mechanical …