Disclaimer: news will not be updated with any regularity...

Knots are seen in translocation experiments with very long DNAs
The experiment performed in Cees Dekker lab in Delft by Calin Plesa et al is nicely consistent with theoretical expectations.
Image on the right shows current traces registered as DNA passes through the solid state nanopore of about 20 micron in diameter. Blocked current is seen to be "quantized" proportional to the number of DNA strands simultaneously located in the pore.
Link to journal web
The experiment performed in Cees Dekker lab in Delft by Calin Plesa et al is nicely consistent with theoretical expectations.
Image on the right shows current traces registered as DNA passes through the solid state nanopore of about 20 micron in diameter. Blocked current is seen to be "quantized" proportional to the number of DNA strands simultaneously located in the pore.
Link to journal web


Cato Sandford defended his PhD
He seems to look happy about it :-)
He seems to look happy about it :-)

Minimal Surfaces Paper Appeared in ACS Macro Letters
In order to quantify the effect of mutual threading on conformations and dynamics of unconcatenated and unknotted rings in the melt we computationally examine their minimal surfaces. We found a linear scaling of the surface area with the ring length. Minimal surfaces allow for an unambiguous algorithmic definition of mutual threading between rings. Based on it, we found that, although ring threading is frequent, majority of cases correspond to short loops. These findings explain why approximate theories that neglect threading are so unexpectedly successful despite having no small parameter justification. We also examine threading dynamics and identify the threading order parameter that reflects the ring diffusivity.
Link to journal web
In order to quantify the effect of mutual threading on conformations and dynamics of unconcatenated and unknotted rings in the melt we computationally examine their minimal surfaces. We found a linear scaling of the surface area with the ring length. Minimal surfaces allow for an unambiguous algorithmic definition of mutual threading between rings. Based on it, we found that, although ring threading is frequent, majority of cases correspond to short loops. These findings explain why approximate theories that neglect threading are so unexpectedly successful despite having no small parameter justification. We also examine threading dynamics and identify the threading order parameter that reflects the ring diffusivity.
Link to journal web


News & Notable about loop extrusion is published ...
... in Biophysical Journal (May 2016)
Link to the article
... in Biophysical Journal (May 2016)
Link to the article


Giant Molecules Book is Published ...
... in Japaneese (April 2016)
Many thanks to Professors Motohiko Tanaka (Chubu University) and Masayuki Tokita (Kyushu University) who carried out the translation.
Link to web site, so far for English edition...
... in Japaneese (April 2016)
Many thanks to Professors Motohiko Tanaka (Chubu University) and Masayuki Tokita (Kyushu University) who carried out the translation.
Link to web site, so far for English edition...

