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L. Baldauf

9 records found

Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are widely used as in vitro model membranes in biophysics and as cell-sized containers in synthetic biology. Despite their ubiquitous use, there is no one-size-fits-all method for their production. Numerous methods have been developed to meet the ...
The actin cortex is a complex cytoskeletal machinery that drives and responds to changes in cell shape. It must generate or adapt to plasma membrane curvature to facilitate diverse functions such as cell division, migration, and phagocytosis. Due to the complex molecular makeup o ...
One of the major challenges of bottom-up synthetic biology is rebuilding a minimal cell division machinery. From a reconstitution perspective, the animal cell division apparatus is mechanically the simplest and therefore attractive to rebuild. An actin-based ring produces contrac ...
Molecular catch bonds are ubiquitous in biology and essential for processes like leucocyte extravasion1 and cellular mechanosensing2. Unlike normal (slip) bonds, catch bonds strengthen under tension. The current paradigm is that this feature provides ‘streng ...
Creating materials with structure that is independently controllable at a range of scales requires breaking naturally occurring hierarchies. Breaking these hierarchies can be achieved via the decoupling of building block attributes from structure during assembly. Here, we demonst ...
Understanding the relationship between colloidal building block shape and self-assembled material structure is important for the development of novel materials by self-assembly. In this regard, colloidal superballs are unique building blocks because their shape can smoothly trans ...
Cells are the fundamental units of life. They make up all living things, from bacteria that live in the soil, to archea that give thermal springs their bright colors, to trees and humans. All of these cells share some common functions: they build themselves from basic building bl ...
The cytoskeletal protein actin polymerizes into filaments that are essential for the mechanical stability of mammalian cells. In vitro experiments showed that direct interactions between actin filaments and lipid bilayers are possible and that the net charge of the bilayer as wel ...