Physics of muscle contraction

M Caruel, L Truskinovsky - Reports on Progress in Physics, 2018 - iopscience.iop.org
In this paper we report, clarify and broaden various recent efforts to complement the
chemistry-centered models of force generation in (skeletal) muscles by mechanics-centered …

The Critical Thing about the Ear's Sensory Hair Cells

AJ Hudspeth, P Martin - Journal of Neuroscience, 2024 - jneurosci.org
The capabilities of the human ear are remarkable. We can normally detect acoustic stimuli
down to a threshold sound-pressure level of 0 dB (decibels) at the entrance to the external …

Quantifying entropy production in active fluctuations of the hair-cell bundle from time irreversibility and uncertainty relations

É Roldán, J Barral, P Martin, JMR Parrondo… - New Journal of …, 2021 - iopscience.iop.org
We introduce lower bounds for the rate of entropy production of an active stochastic process
by quantifying the irreversibility of stochastic traces obtained from mesoscopic degrees of …

Deiters cells act as mechanical equalizers for outer hair cells

W Zhou, T Jabeen, S Sabha, J Becker… - Journal of …, 2022 - Soc Neuroscience
The outer hair cells in the mammalian cochlea are cellular actuators essential for sensitive
hearing. The geometry and stiffness of the structural scaffold surrounding the outer hair cells …

Inferring entropy production rate from partially observed Langevin dynamics under coarse-graining

A Ghosal, G Bisker - Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2022 - pubs.rsc.org
The entropy production rate (EPR) measures time-irreversibility in systems operating far
from equilibrium. The challenge in estimating the EPR for a continuous variable system is …

Stiffness and tension gradients of the hair cell's tip-link complex in the mammalian cochlea

M Tobin, A Chaiyasitdhi, V Michel, N Michalski… - Elife, 2019 - elifesciences.org
Sound analysis by the cochlea relies on frequency tuning of mechanosensory hair cells
along a tonotopic axis. To clarify the underlying biophysical mechanism, we have …

SNARE machinery is optimized for ultrafast fusion

F Manca, F Pincet, L Truskinovsky… - Proceedings of the …, 2019 - National Acad Sciences
SNARE proteins zipper to form complexes (SNAREpins) that power vesicle fusion with target
membranes in a variety of biological processes. A single SNAREpin takes about 1 s to fuse …

Control of a hair bundle's mechanosensory function by its mechanical load

JD Salvi, D Ó Maoiléidigh, BA Fabella… - Proceedings of the …, 2015 - National Acad Sciences
Hair cells, the sensory receptors of the internal ear, subserve different functions in various
receptor organs: they detect oscillatory stimuli in the auditory system, but transduce constant …

Mechanical frequency tuning by sensory hair cells, the receptors and amplifiers of the inner ear

P Martin, AJ Hudspeth - Annual Review of Condensed Matter …, 2021 - annualreviews.org
We recognize sounds by analyzing their frequency content. Different frequency components
evoke distinct mechanical waves that each travel within the hearing organ, or cochlea, to a …

3D morphology of an outer-hair-cell hair bundle increases its displacement and dynamic range

Z Zhu, W Reid, SS George, V Ou, DÓ Maoiléidigh - Biophysical Journal, 2024 - cell.com
In mammals, outer-hair-cell hair bundles (OHBs) transduce sound-induced forces into
receptor currents and are required for the wide dynamic range and high sensitivity of …