More than just a barrier: using physical models to couple membrane shape to cell function

The correct execution of many cellular processes, such as division and motility, requires the cell to adopt a specific shape. Physically, these shapes are determined by the interplay of the plasma membrane and internal cellular driving factors. While the plasma membrane defines the boundary of the cell, processes inside the cell can result in...

Interactions between model inclusions on closed lipid bilayer membranes

Protein inclusions in the membranes of living cells interact via the deformations they impose on that membrane. Such membrane-mediated interactions lead to sorting and self-assembly of the inclusions, as well as to membrane remodelling, crucial for many biological processes. For the past decades, theory, numerical calculations and experiments...