Kinetics and Optimality of Influenza A Virus Locomotion.

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) must navigate through a dense extracellular mucus to infect airway epithelial cells. The mucous layer, composed of glycosylated biopolymers (mucins), presents sialic acid that binds to ligands on the viral envelope and can be irreversibly cleaved by viral enzymes. It was recently discovered that filamentous IAVs exhibit directed persistent motion along their long axis on sialic acid-coated surfaces.

A multimodal zebrafish developmental atlas reveals the state-transition dynamics of late-vertebrate pluripotent axial progenitors.

Elucidating organismal developmental processes requires a comprehensive understanding of cellular lineages in the spatial, temporal, and molecular domains. In this study, we introduce Zebrahub, a dynamic atlas of zebrafish embryonic development that integrates single-cell sequencing time course data with lineage reconstructions facilitated by light-sheet microscopy. This atlas offers high-resolution and in-depth molecular insights into zebrafish development, achieved through the sequencing of individual embryos across ten developmental stages, complemented by reconstructions of cellular trajectories.

The endoplasmic reticulum as an active liquid network.

The peripheral endoplasmic reticulum (ER) forms a dense, interconnected, and constantly evolving network of membrane-bound tubules in eukaryotic cells. While individual structural elements and the morphogens that stabilize them have been described, a quantitative understanding of the dynamic large-scale network topology remains elusive. We develop a physical model of the ER as an active liquid network, governed by a balance of tension-driven shrinking and new tubule growth.

Aqueous Photocatalytic Oxidation of Thioethers with Polydiacetylene Micelle Nanoreactors.

A semi-heterogeneous photocatalytic system was assembled through encapsulation of a lipophilic porphyrin in stabilized polydiacetylene micelles. The colloidal nanohybrid catalyst was valorized in the aerobic photo-oxidation of sulfides to the corresponding sulfoxides. Micelles behaved as nanoreactors by creating a favorable environment for the photo-activation of oxygen nearby thioethers and subsequent sulfoxidation.