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biophysics

Illustration of a wheel made of motors connected by arms. The wheel is shown in different stretched and squashed configurations.
complex systems

Wheel Made of ‘Odd Matter’ Spontaneously Rolls Uphill

By Ben Brubaker
June 15, 2022
Read Later

Physicists have solved a key problem of robotic locomotion by revising the usual rules of interaction between simple component parts.

Illustration of pieces of paper with scientific images on them feeding into a machine. A human hand turns a crank, and equations come out of the machine.
algorithms

Powerful ‘Machine Scientists’ Distill the Laws of Physics From Raw Data

By Charlie Wood
May 10, 2022
Read Later

Researchers say we’re on the cusp of “GoPro physics,” where a camera can point at an event and an algorithm can identify the underlying physics equation.

Simulated microscopy image of light shining through mitochondrial bundles and emerging as tight beams.
biophysics

Mitochondria Double as Tiny Lenses in the Eye

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
April 5, 2022
Read Later

The optical properties of mitochondrial bundles in the retina may improve how efficiently the eye captures light.

Image of Trichoplax adhaerens moving against a black background.
biophysics

This Animal’s Behavior Is Mechanically Programmed

By Jordana Cepelewicz
March 16, 2022
Read Later

Biomechanical interactions, rather than neurons, control the movements of one of the simplest animals. The discovery offers a glimpse into how animal behavior worked before neurons evolved.

Photo of the blue-winged leafbird of Southeast Asia.
explainers

How Animals Color Themselves With Nanoscale Structures

By Viviane Callier
June 16, 2021
Read Later

Animals sculpt the optical properties of their tissues at the nanoscale to give themselves “structural colors.” New work is piecing together how they do it.

Photo of green leafy plants in close-up.
Abstractions blog

Why Are Plants Green? To Reduce the Noise in Photosynthesis.

By Rodrigo Pérez Ortega
July 30, 2020
Read Later

Plants ignore the most energy-rich part of sunlight because stability matters more than efficiency, according to a new model of photosynthesis.

Abstractions blog

Do Brains Operate at a Tipping Point? New Clues and Complications

By Charlie Wood
June 10, 2019
Read Later

New experimental results simultaneously advance and challenge the theory that the brain’s network of neurons balances on the knife-edge between two phases.

Art for "The Math That Tells Cells What They Are"
mathematical biology

The Math That Tells Cells What They Are

By Jordana Cepelewicz
March 13, 2019
Read Later

During development, cells seem to decode their fate through optimal information processing, which could hint at a more general principle of life.

Art for "‘Lava-Lamp’ Proteins Inside Cells May Protect and Regulate"
cell biology

‘Lava-Lamp’ Proteins May Help Cells Cheat Death

By Katia Moskvitch
November 26, 2018
Read Later

With proteins that reversibly self-assemble into droplets, cells may control their metabolism — and harden themselves against harsh conditions.


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