This review gives a brief overview of experimental approaches used to assess the bending
rigidity of membranes. Emphasis is placed on techniques based on the use of giant …

The existence and diversity of human cultures are made possible by our species-specific
cognitive capacities. But how? Do cultures emerge and diverge as a result of the …

Research on giant vesicles is becoming increasingly popular. Giant vesicles provide model
biomembrane systems for systematic measurements of mechanical and rheological …

A new method to deposit lipid bilayers on solid substrates by spin-coating of lipid solutions is
presented, leading to highly aligned and homogeneous bilayers probably nucleating at the …

Over the last 20 years, neutron reflection has emerged as a powerful technique for
investigating inhomogeneities across an interface, inhomogeneities either in composition …

We have carried out X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments, as a function of temperature,
on fully hydrated samples of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayers. The data show the …

Elucidating origin, composition, size, and lifetime of microdomains in biological membranes
remains a major issue for the understanding of cell biology. For lipid domains, the lack of a …

Current description of biomembrane mechanics originates for a large part from W. Helfrich's
model. Based on his continuum theory, many experiments have been performed in the past …

Atomic force microscopy has developed into a powerful tool in the study of phase separation
in lipid bilayers. Its ability to image a semi-fluid surface under buffer at nanometre lateral …

One growing aspect of nanotechnology concerns the controlled elaboration of nanoscale
systems. Generally speaking, nanobiotechnology requires the organization of atoms and …