390 papers
Biophysics sits at the fascinating intersection where the laws of physics meet the complexity of living systems. This field uses tools like light, electricity, and mechanical forces to decode how cells move, how proteins fold, and how our senses translate the world around us. Rather than just observing biology, biophysicists measure and model life to understand the fundamental machinery that powers every organism.
On Gist.Science, we make these discoveries accessible by curating the latest preprints directly from bioRxiv. Our team processes every new submission in this category, providing both clear, plain-language overviews and detailed technical summaries so readers of all backgrounds can grasp the cutting-edge science. Below are the most recent biophysics papers from bioRxiv, ready for you to explore.
This study elucidates the structural basis of biased agonism at the chemokine receptor CCR7 by revealing how distinct binding modes of ligands CCL19 and CCL21 differentially modulate intracellular receptor dynamics to either permit or preclude kinase engagement, thereby driving divergent signaling outcomes.
This paper presents a detailed protocol for constructing and characterizing a single-objective oblique plane microscope using commercially available components to enable fast, high-resolution, multi-colour volumetric fluorescence imaging while overcoming the complex alignment challenges of traditional designs.
By combining microsecond-scale molecular dynamics simulations with free energy perturbation calculations, this study elucidates how Mg2+ coordination and substrate binding cooperatively stabilize the inward-facing conformation of the PCAT1 transporter, identifying Lys525 as the dominant residue for ATP stabilization and providing a comprehensive molecular model of nucleotide recognition in this ABC exporter.
This study utilizes all-atom molecular dynamics simulations and free-energy perturbation calculations to determine the absolute binding free energy of cAMP to the cyclic-nucleotide-binding domains of HCN channel isoforms 1–4, thereby elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying their differential sensitivities to cAMP modulation.
This study demonstrates that while single-residue substitutions in an intrinsically disordered mitochondrial localization peptide do not alter its overall lack of stable folding, they subtly reshape local structural preferences and the underlying free-energy landscape, suggesting a mechanism for modulating targeting efficiency through sequence-dependent conformational bias.
This study combines a novel Single-on-Paired experimental preparation with computational modeling to demonstrate that ephaptic coupling, mediated by sodium channels in the perinexus, provides substantial support for intercellular cardiac conduction under physiological sodium conditions, particularly when gap junction conductance is reduced.
This study utilizes all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of a full-length, glycosylated HIV-1 Env trimer embedded in a lipid bilayer to reveal how the intrinsic flexibility of the membrane-proximal external region and transmembrane domain facilitates receptor engagement and fusion while offering insights into antibody epitope accessibility.
This study validates the use of FoldX-based folding energy estimates for variant interpretation by demonstrating that, despite moderate overall correlation coefficients, systematic analysis of mega-scale data reveals a strong linear relationship that can be refined by aggregating structural estimates and identifying outliers, thereby establishing a robust framework for flagging low-confidence predictions and improving protein stability assessments.
Using a multi-agent reinforcement learning model, this study demonstrates that the quality of social information and environmental volatility jointly determine collective foraging strategies, where low-quality cues yield fragile coordination in stable settings while high-quality payoff information enables flexible, adaptive behavioral diversity in volatile environments.
This study demonstrates that robust ciliary flows in early Xenopus embryos provide effective protection against pathogens through a resilient liquid shield driven by overall ciliary velocity, rather than relying on precise multiciliated cell patterning.