The discovery of the depletion force.

J Chem Phys

School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, United Kingdom.

Published: June 2021

This Editorial reports how the depletion force theory was originally developed by Sho Asakura and Fumio Oosawa and how their one-page paper was "rediscovered" about 20 years after the paper was published. The first part of this Editorial is mostly based on the lecture by Oosawa and his autobiographies, and the second part is written by one of two scientists who found the paper. The aim of this Editorial is to record the background of the discovery of the depletion force. We believe that this Editorial presents an interesting story showing how science develops. The story reminds us of the importance of basic education and continuous interests in unknown phenomena and interactions between people of different disciplines, although they are sometimes considered as separate elements of research.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0052306DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

depletion force
12
discovery depletion
8
force editorial
8
editorial
4
editorial reports
4
reports depletion
4
force theory
4
theory originally
4
originally developed
4
developed sho
4

Similar Publications

The Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus in 1986 revealed an unusually oblique and off-centred magnetic field. This single in situ measurement has been the basis of our interpretation of Uranus's magnetosphere as the canonical extreme magnetosphere of the solar system; with inexplicably intense electron radiation belts and a severely plasma-depleted magnetosphere. However, the role of external forcing by the solar wind has rarely been considered in explaining these observations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mechanical Wear of Degraded Articular Cartilage.

Ann Biomed Eng

January 2025

School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.

Purpose: To evaluate the mechanical wear of cartilage with different types of degradation.

Methods: Bovine osteochondral explants were treated with interleukin-1β (IL-1β) to mimic inflammatory conditions, with chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) to specifically remove glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), or with collagenase to degrade the collagen network during 5 days of culture. Viscoelastic properties of cartilage were characterized via indentation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Spatial working memory is crucial for processing visual and spatial information, serving as a foundation for complex cognitive tasks. However, the effects of prolonged sleep deprivation on its dynamics and underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the specific trends and neural mechanisms underlying spatial working memory alterations during 36 h of acute sleep deprivation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) are crucial in the progression and treatment response of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). TAMs infiltrate OSCC, adopting an M2-like phenotype that promotes tumour growth, metastasis and immune suppression. The current narrative review explored the roles of TAMs in OSCC, focusing on their impact on the tumour microenvironment, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, immunosuppression and potential therapeutic targeting.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Therapeutic Black Phosphorus Nanosheets Elicit Neutrophil Response for Enhanced Tumor Suppression.

Adv Sci (Weinh)

January 2025

Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, P. R. China.

Black phosphorus (BP) has demonstrated potential as a drug carrier and photothermal agent in cancer therapy; however, its intrinsic functions in cancer treatment remain underexplored. This study investigates the immunomodulatory effects of polyethylene glycol-functionalized BP (BP-PEG) nanosheets in breast cancer models. Using immunocompetent mouse models-including 4T1 orthotopic BALB/c mice and MMTV-PyMT transgenic mice, it is found that BP-PEG significantly inhibits tumor growth and metastasis without directly inducing cytotoxicity in tumor cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!