Article
Biology
Iago Grobas, Marco Polin, Munehiro Asally
Summary: Research found that Bacillus subtilis, when exposed to a gradient of kanamycin, activated matrix genes and transitioned to biofilms, with the initial stage of this transition supported by stress-induced multilayer formation. The study suggested a strategy of antibiotic treatment to inhibit the transition from swarms to biofilms by targeting the localized phase transition.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Leah M. Dignan, M. Shane Woolf, Christopher J. Tomley, Aeren Q. Nauman, James P. Landers
Summary: This report describes the development of a centrifugally controlled microfluidic dynamic solid-phase extraction platform for obtaining amplification-ready nucleic acids directly from buccal swab cuttings. The technology showed broad utility by successfully establishing downstream compatibility with multiple nucleic acid assays. The automatable, portable microfluidic platform for nucleic acid preparation device could enable practical, in situ use by nontechnical personnel.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tsuyoshi Mashima, Bas J. H. M. Rosier, Koji Oohora, Tom F. A. de Greef, Takashi Hayashi, Luc Brunsveld
Summary: Hexameric hemoprotein (HTHP) is used as a scaffold protein for the assembly and activation of the apoptotic signalling enzyme caspase-9, employing short DNA elements for modular recruitment domains. This allows for advanced control over protein assembly and activity state.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Roger Rubio-Sanchez, Simone Eizagirre Barker, Michal Walczak, Pietro Cicuta, Lorenzo Di Michele
Summary: This study introduces a modular approach to program the distribution of amphiphilic DNA nanostructures in lipid domains, enabling the regulation of biological machinery distribution. By exploiting different hydrophobic anchors to enrich different lipid phases, researchers were able to modulate the lateral distribution of devices by combining hydrophobes and adjusting nanostructure size and topology.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Antonius Chrisnandy, Delphine Blondel, Saba Rezakhani, Nicolas Broguiere, Matthias P. Lutolf
Summary: The study investigated the influence of stress relaxation of the extracellular matrix on the formation of intestinal organoids, revealing that a stress-relaxing synthetic matrix promotes crypt budding through increased symmetry breaking and niche cell formation.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Nada Farag, Milan Dordevic, Erica Del Grosso, Francesco Ricci
Summary: This paper demonstrates an approach to achieve dynamic and reversible decoration of DNA-based scaffolds. Engineered DNA tiles with enzyme-responsive strands conjugated to different molecular labels are used. These strands are designed to be recognized and degraded by specific enzymes, inducing the replacement of them with new strands attached to different labels. Multiple enzyme-responsive strands allow for dynamic, orthogonal, and reversible decoration of DNA structures. The approach enables the control of the distribution of different labels on the same scaffold without crosstalk, leading to DNA scaffolds with different antibody recognition patterns.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Rafal Sienkiewicz, Wojciech Jedruch
Summary: The article describes the DigiHive system, which is an artificial chemistry simulation environment, and presents the results of initial simulation experiments conducted to create a self-replicating system resembling a living cell. In the two-dimensional environment, particles can bond together to form complexes, and some complexes can recognize and alter the structures of nearby complexes. The functions performed by these complexes are encoded in their structure using a Prolog-like language expression. The article also discusses the limitations and challenges of modeling in the DigiHive environment, and explores potential future experiments and applications of this type of modeling.
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Hardware & Architecture
Uwe Brinkschulte, Mathias Pacher
Summary: Embedded systems are becoming more complex due to increasing chip integration density and the use of bio-inspired techniques like self-organization to handle this complexity. The artificial hormone system (AHS) and artificial DNA (ADNA) are used to enable self-organizing, self-building, and self-healing distributed real-time systems. However, the system is vulnerable to communication dropouts between nodes, causing conflicts in task assignments. Recovery measures are proposed to quickly detect and address these issues, with evaluation on a self-balancing robot vehicle demonstrating their effectiveness.
2021 IEEE 24TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON REAL-TIME DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING (ISORC 2021)
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Software Engineering
Uwe Brinkschulte, Mathias Pacher, Melanie Brinkschulte
Summary: Embedded systems are becoming more complex due to increasing chip integration density, a larger number of chips in distributed applications, and the demands of challenging application fields such as autonomous cars. Bio-inspired techniques like self-organization play a crucial role in handling this complexity. Utilizing artificial DNA (ADNA), self-organization mechanisms can autonomously build systems at run-time, making ADNA suitable for automotive applications with highly redundant processors.
CONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION-PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Meifang Fu, Henri G. Franquelim, Simon Kretschmer, Petra Schwille
Summary: The MinDE proteins in E. coli have the ability to oscillate concentration gradients and deform giant vesicles through mechanical work. In a new model membrane system, MinDE oscillations deform flat vesicles into tubules and promote membrane spreading, as well as induce bud formation depending on the membrane and buffer compositions. Ultimately, this study demonstrates the potential for straightforward mechanochemical coupling between MinDE biochemical reaction cycle and membrane transformation.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
V. R. Folifack Signing, G. A. Gakam Tegue, M. Kountchou, Z. T. Njitacke, N. Tsafack, J. D. D. Nkapkop, C. M. Lessouga Etoundi, J. Kengne
Summary: In this article, a chameleon cryptosystem based on a chameleon chaotic system and dynamic DNA coding is proposed for image encryption. The chosen chaotic sequences are tightly connected to disrupt the pixel image distribution. To enhance security, confusion and diffusion operations are closely related to the chaotic sequences. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed cryptosystem performs well against various attacks.
CHAOS SOLITONS & FRACTALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
M. Florencia Sanchez, Marina S. Dietz, Ulrike Mueller, Julian Weghuber, Karl Gatterdam, Ralph Wieneke, Mike Heilemann, Peter Lanzerstorfer, Robert Tampe
Summary: Membrane receptor clustering is important for cell-cell communication, but its physiological role in cell signaling is still unclear. In this study, the researchers developed a dynamic platform to induce cluster formation of neuropeptide Y2 hormone receptors (Y2R) and found that receptor clustering enhanced the cell's response to ligands and played a key role in cell signaling.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fabiola Garcia Fernandez, Sebastien Huet, Judith Mine-Hattab
Summary: Chromatin, a heterogeneous and dynamic structure in the cell nucleus, has been revealed to play a key role in regulating genome functions and occupies a non-random position through the application of high spatiotemporal resolution imaging. Super-resolution microscopy allows for the study of chromatin behavior at a nucleosome scale, providing a multi-scale view of chromatin within the nucleus, particularly in the context of the DNA damage response.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jeffrey M. McNeill, Yun Chang Choi, Yi-Yu Cai, Jiacen Guo, Francois Nadal, Cherie R. Kagan, Thomas E. Mallouk
Summary: This study reports the assembly and phase separation of microspinners powered by sound waves. A phase diagram is constructed by studying the interactions between spinners at different densities, showing gaseous dimer pairing, collective rotation, multiphase separation, and jamming. The observations are consistent with recent theoretical predictions and provide an exciting experimental window for the study of colloidal active matter and microrobotic systems.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tomoto Ura, Shunsuke Tomita, Kentaro Shiraki
Summary: Dynamic droplet formation through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is believed to play a role in regulating various biological processes. A model LLPS system coupled with sequential glycolytic enzymatic reactions was developed to demonstrate the dynamic control of liquid droplets, where the droplets compartmentalize different enzymes and trigger their formation, dissolution, and long-term retention by converting scaffold nucleotides. This system provides insights into the role of enzymes associated with LLPS in living cells.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)