Skip to main content
Log in

Biophysics

The expressionist movement

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature Physics

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Cells exploit chemical waves to map the space around them, but their dynamics is difficult to replicate. Using a set of genes to generate a travelling front of protein concentration outside a living cell constitutes a remarkable achievement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1: Running a bistable gene regulatory network in a microfabricated array of interconnected compartments generates a travelling front of protein.

References

  1. Tayar, A. Karzbrun, E., Noireaux, V. & Bar-Ziv, R. H. Nature Phys. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nphys3469 (2015).

  2. Luther, R. Z. Elektrochem. 12, 596–600 (1906).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Zhabotinsky, A. M. in Oscillatory Processes in Biological and Chemical Systems (ed Frank, G. M.) 252 (Science, 1967).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Epstein, I. & Pojman, J. A. An Introduction to Nonlinear Chemical Reactions (Oxford Univ. Press, 1998).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Belousov, B. P. Sb Ref. Radiats Med Medgiz Moscow 1959, 145–147 (1959).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Isalan, M., Lemerle, C. & Serrano, L. PLoS Biol. 3, e64 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Loose, M., Fischer-Friedrich, E., Ries, J., Kruse, K. & Schwille, P. Science 320, 789–792 (2008).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Semenov, S. N., Markvoort, A. J., de Greef, T. F. A. & Huck, W. T. S. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 53, 8066–8069 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Padirac, A., Fujii, T., Estévez-Torres, A. & Rondelez, Y. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135, 14586–14592 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to André Estevez-Torres.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Estevez-Torres, A. The expressionist movement. Nature Phys 11, 992–993 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3496

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3496

  • Springer Nature Limited

Navigation