Fertilization triggers a complex cellular programme that transforms two highly specialized
meiotic germ cells, the oocyte and the sperm, into a totipotent mitotic embryo. Linkages …

Polarity establishment, asymmetric division, and acquisition of cell fates are critical steps
during earlydevelopment. In this review, we discuss processes that set up the embryonic …

Living systems are capable of locomotion, reconfiguration and replication. To perform these
tasks, cells spatiotemporally coordinate the interactions of force-generating,'active'molecules …

Organisms show a remarkable range of sizes, yet the dimensions of a single cell rarely
exceed 100 µm. While the physical and biological origins of this constraint remain poorly …

A new life begins with the unification of the maternal and paternal chromosomes upon
fertilization. The parental chromosomes first become enclosed in two separate pronuclei …

The mitotic spindle ensures the faithful segregation of chromosomes. Here we combine the
first large-scale serial electron tomography of whole mitotic spindles in early C. elegans …

The cell is a mechanical machine, and continuum mechanics of the fluid cytoplasm and the
viscoelastic deforming cytoskeleton play key roles in cell physiology. We review …

Many important processes in the cell are mediated by stiff microtubule polymers and the
active motor proteins moving on them. This includes the transport of subcellular structures …

We present a novel platform for the large-scale simulation of three-dimensional fibrous
structures immersed in a Stokesian fluid and evolving under confinement or in free-space in …

Active suspensions, of which a bath of swimming microorganisms is a paradigmatic
example, denote large collections of individual particles or macromolecules capable of …