The mechanical and physical properties of substrate play a crucial role in regulating many
cell functions and behaviors. However, how these properties affect cell volume is still …

Water at interfaces governs many processes on the molecular scale from electrochemical
and enzymatic reactions to protein folding. Here we focus on water transport through …

Hydraulic fracturing plays a major role in cavity formation during embryonic development,
when pressurized fluid opens microlumens at cell-cell contacts, which evolve to form a …

Despite the environmentally friendly reputation of ionic liquids (ILs), their safety has been
recently questioned given their potential as cytotoxic agents. The fundamental mechanisms …

Lipid bilayer membranes have a native (albeit small) permeability for water molecules.
Under an external load, provided that the bilayer structure stays intact and does not suffer …

This chapter suggests that new shapes of primordial living systems may have emerged via
tensegrity mechanisms. As a physical model, it explores the emergence of shape using …

Measurements of the unitary hydraulic conductivity of membrane channels, pf, may be
hampered by difficulties in producing sufficient quantities of purified and reconstituted …

Artificial cells are based on dynamic compartmentalized systems. Thus, remodeling of
membrane-bound systems, such as giant unilamellar vesicles, is finding applications …

Hydraulic fracturing plays a major role in the formation of biological lumens during
embryonic development, when the accumulation of pressurized fluid leads to the formation …

Gas vesicles used as contrast agents for noninvasive ultrasound imaging must be
formulated to be stable, and their mechanical properties must be assessed. We report here …