biophysics

From dissipative structures to the adaptive frontier of the brain

Nature Communications, Published online: 17 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74380-7 Skin colour is known to confound optical devices, adversely impacting care for patients with darker skin. Here, the authors investigate this effect in photoacoustic imaging by characterising optical and acoustic mechanisms driving skin colour-dependent degradation in image quality and biomarker quantification.

Dr. Ranjan discusses how emerging focused ultrasound applications, including histotripsy and sonodynamic therapy, are being used to treat solid tumors in companion animals.

A new single-protein analysis technique gives researchers an unprecedented ability to study proteins called scramblases, which have critical roles in biology. The development of the new technique, in a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, expands the toolkit available to cell biologists and biophysicists and could someday […]

Nature Communications, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73844-0 F1-ATPase is a rotary motor protein essential for cellular energy transduction. Here the authors develop a thermodynamically consistent Markov model that quantitatively matches experimental data and reconciles prior controversies over its catalytic pathways and inherent stochasticity.

Nature Communications, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74109-6 The lattice architecture of the HIV capsid holds the key to understanding its biophysical properties and function. Li et al. introduce a geometric criterion revealing its implications for molecular frustration, lattice anomalies and cofactor binding.

Nature Communications, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74438-6 Membrane properties affect ion channel gating, yet the mechanisms are unclear. Here, authors show bilayer thickness regulates ball-and-chain inactivation in a calcium-activated potassium channel by modulating interactions between the lipids and the inactivation domain.

Pack enough string-like objects together, and they will begin to align with one another. But replace the strings with worms or bacteria living in your gut, and this self-organization becomes much more difficult. A team of University of Amsterdam (UvA) researchers has demonstrated that activity can fundamentally alter one of the most important phase transitions […]

In a landmark achievement in biological imaging, researchers at Biohub and the University of California, Berkeley today announced the successful demonstration of the laser phase plate, a novel device that dramatically improves the contrast of images produced by cryo-electron microscopes, opening up an entirely new view of human biology.

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Hi everyone, I’ve been trying to understand bioelectricity, especially how neurons transmit signals, and I’m not sure whether it’s better approached from a physics or biology perspective. From a physics point of view, I’ve seen it compared to basic electrical systems, while biologically it... Read more

Nature Communications, Published online: 06 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74087-9 Kir4.1/5.1 channels are vital for brain and kidney function. Here the authors combine structural, electrophysiological, and computational studies to reveal an inner-ring pore blockage mechanism by polyamines and inhibitors, providing the structural basis for inward rectification.

BETHESDA, MD - The Biophysical Society condemns the Office of Management and Budgets (OMB) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Federal Financial Assistance, released Friday, May 29th. The NPRM is a sweeping overhaul of federal rulemaking and oversight, removing individual oversight from federal agencies to promulgate rules and oversee how regulations are implemented and enforced internally.

Human Technopole welcomes Wolfram Pönisch as a new Research Group Leader in the Computational Biology Research Centre - Biophysical Modelling and Simulations Programme. A theoretical physicist by training, Wolfram studies the stochastic morphodynamics of living systems: how cells and tissues change shape, fluctuate and use these dynamics to influence biological processes. The post Introducing Wol…

The orchestrated objective reduction (Orch OR) theory, developed by Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff, proposes that moments of conscious experience arise from gravity-induced objective reductions (OR) of quantum superpositions orchestrated within neuronal microtubules. This framework has generated substantial empirical interest through its links to microtubule biology, anesthesia sensitivity, an…

Sperm cells move through fluids that should stop them almost instantly, yet new research suggests they succeed by exploiting unusual properties of active living matter. A sperm cell should not be a strong swimmer. At microscopic scales, fluid does not behave like water in a pool. It acts more like a thick barrier, stopping motion [...]

Nature Communications, Published online: 28 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73415-3 Here, the authors tracked ultrafast proton migration and hydrogen back-transfer in photoionized water dimers. These dynamics trigger fast autoionization that emits low-energy electrons, key agents in DNA damage, outpacing intermolecular Coulombic decay.

Living cells cool much slower than our current understanding of heat conduction can explain, according to new research from the University of Tokyo. Researchers used two techniques - high-speed temperature mapping and artificial heating - to observe how heat dissipated from living cells and similar-sized artificial, fluid-filled sacs (liposomes).