Utilising capillary interactions between oligomers in polydimethylsiloxane, an elastomeric biocompatible substrate, and Ga allows for the formation of Ga nanodroplets with sub-10nm gaps between them in a single physical vapour deposition step. These gaps enable the excitation of gap plasmon resonances, which can be tuned by changing either the oligomer content in the substrate or by mechanical stretching. By a simple and effective method of fabrication, structural colors on large areas can be fabricated endowed with the property of mechanoresponsiveness, which can be used in applications such as strain sensors, bio-mechanics, soft-robotics, and prosthetics.
Macromolecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids, play essential roles in cellular functions through dynamic structural changes. Understanding these functions requires detailed characterization of structural dynamics. While techniques like X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM resolve high-resolution static structures, they struggle to capture low-resolution, flexible structures and the full distribution of conformations during chemical reactions. These limitations arise from averaging processes that enhance signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) but exclude flexible regions, distort resolution, and miss rare high-energy states. To address this, we developed individual-particle electron tomography (IPET), a method for determining 3D structures of single particles at low-to-intermediate resolution (up to 2 nm) without averaging. IPET reconstructs a detailed 3D density map by capturing images at multiple tilt angles, facilitating flexible model fitting and revealing unique particle structures. This method reveals unbiased structural distributions, enhancing the study of molecular dynamics, phase transitions, and structural alterations during chemical reactions and self-folding.
Conventional frame-based cameras often struggle with limited dynamic range, leading to saturation and loss of detail when capturing scenes with significant brightness variations. Neuromorphic cameras, inspired by human retina, offer a solution by providing an inherently high dynamic range. This capability enables them to capture both bright and faint celestial objects without saturation effects, preserving details across a wide range of luminosities. This paper investigates the application of neuromorphic imaging technology for capturing celestial bodies across a wide range of flux levels. Its advantages are demonstrated through examples such as the bright planet Saturn with its faint moons and the bright star Sirius A alongside its faint companion, Sirius B.
Early plants are thought to have grown by equal dichotomous branching of the stem, forming iterative self-similar structures that filled the three-dimensional space. Lack of equality between the two branches resulted in one dominating main growth axis with indeterminate growth and another subsidiary axillary growth axis that displayed limited branching potential. Recruitment of differentiation factors to the axillary branch system may have eventually converted the axillary branch to a determinate organ such as leaves with specific function. Recent molecular genetic analysis has identified some of these differentiation molecules, inactivation of which converts the simple leaves to the indeterminate branching system displayed by stems.
Light microscopy has been used to characterize microbes and host-microbes interaction for a long time. On the other hand, the cryo-electron microscope revolutionized structural biology, where we can demonstrate the atomic-level structure of small molecules in a human cell. Imaging using microscopes is a powerful tool to characterize host-pathogen interaction. Most pathogenic microbes translocate various effector proteins and toxins through their secretion system, which damages the host cell plasma membrane and initiates the exchange with the host cell. In this study, we characterize the structure of pore-forming toxins from pathogenic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, and its interaction with HEK 293T cells at high resolution using TEM, and cryo-EM.
