Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Overview of Cell Signaling01:23

Overview of Cell Signaling

16.3K
Despite the protective membrane that separates a cell from the environment, cells need the ability to detect and respond to environmental changes. Additionally, cells often need to communicate with one another. Unicellular and multicellular organisms use a variety of cell signaling mechanisms to communicate with the environment.
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
16.3K
Ampere-Maxwell's Law: Problem-Solving01:17

Ampere-Maxwell's Law: Problem-Solving

1.4K
A parallel-plate capacitor with capacitance C, whose plates have area A and separation distance d, is connected to a resistor R and a battery of voltage V. The current starts to flow at t = 0. What is the displacement current between the capacitor plates at time t? From the properties of the capacitor, what is the corresponding real current?
To solve the problem, we can use the equations from the analysis of an RC circuit and Maxwell's version of Ampère's law.
For the first part of the...
1.4K
Transcellular Transport of Solutes01:23

Transcellular Transport of Solutes

4.0K
Transcellular transport of solutes is the movement of substances like monosaccharides and amino acids through polarized cells. This transport mechanism is primarily seen in epithelial and endothelial cells aided by membrane transport proteins such as channels and transporters. The tight junctions between these cells confine the membrane proteins to the two sides of the cell. The epithelial cells have distinct apical and basolateral domains. In contrast, the endothelial cells show the luminal...
4.0K
Design Example01:23

Design Example

694
The innovation of touch-tone telephony revolutionized the telecommunications industry by replacing the traditional rotary dial with a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling system. This system uses a matrix-style keypad with buttons arranged in four rows and three columns, creating 12 distinct signals each assigned to a pair of frequencies. Each button press results in a simultaneous generation of two sinusoidal tones – one from a low-frequency group (697 to 941 Hz) and one from a...
694
Non-equilibrium in the Cell01:16

Non-equilibrium in the Cell

3.9K
An important concept in studying metabolism and energy is that of chemical equilibrium. Most chemical reactions are reversible. They can proceed in both directions, releasing energy into their environment in one direction, and absorbing it from the environment in the other direction. The same is true for the chemical reactions involved in cell metabolism, such as the breaking down and building up of proteins into and from individual amino acids, respectively. Reactants within a closed system...
3.9K
Biot-Savart Law: Problem-Solving00:59

Biot-Savart Law: Problem-Solving

3.7K
The magnitude and direction of a magnetic field created by a steady current can be calculated using the Biot-Savart law.
Consider a mobile phone battery bank as a source of steady current, which flows through the wire connected between the two. What is the magnitude of the magnetic field created by this current at a field point P?
To estimate the magnitude of the total magnetic field, we first consider a small current element of length dl, at a distance r from the field point. Now the following...
3.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Force patterning drives quasistratification and graded tissue-scale spatial order in auditory epithelia.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Excitability and traveling waves in renewable active matter.

Physical review. E·2025
Same author

Segregation, finite-time elastic singularities, and coarsening in renewable active matter.

Physical review. E·2025
Same author

Plasma membrane asymmetry and lipid homeostasis: general discussion.

Faraday discussions·2025
Same author

Active drive towards elastic spinodals.

Physical review. E·2025
Same author

Structure and dynamics of asymmetric membranes: general discussion.

Faraday discussions·2025
Same journal

The TaMYB55-TaSnRK1α1-TabZIP9 module confers heat stress tolerance in wheat.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Superstatistics approach to turbulent circulation fluctuations.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

A molecular timescale for evolution of cobamide biosynthesis.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Pierre Chambon, a pioneer of molecular biology and gene regulation in eukaryotes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Granulosa cell glycogen fuels the avascular corpus luteum.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Synthetic essentiality of TRAIL/TNFSF10 in VHL-deficient renal cell carcinoma.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 26, 2026

The Encapsulation of Cell-free Transcription and Translation Machinery in Vesicles for the Construction of Cellular Mimics
10:28

The Encapsulation of Cell-free Transcription and Translation Machinery in Vesicles for the Construction of Cellular Mimics

Published on: October 21, 2013

17.5K

A cellular solution to an information-processing problem.

Garud Iyengar1, Madan Rao2

  • 1Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 13, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cells use mobile surface receptors to sense signals. Optimal placement balances local assembly for reduced noise and wider distribution for reduced spatial error, revealing a universal strategy in biology.

Keywords:
active mechanicsinformation optimizationprotein sensors

More Related Videos

Rapid Development of Cell State Identification Circuits with Poly-Transfection
09:21

Rapid Development of Cell State Identification Circuits with Poly-Transfection

Published on: February 24, 2023

2.1K
Silicon Microchips for Manipulating Cell-cell Interaction
23:21

Silicon Microchips for Manipulating Cell-cell Interaction

Published on: August 30, 2007

10.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 26, 2026

The Encapsulation of Cell-free Transcription and Translation Machinery in Vesicles for the Construction of Cellular Mimics
10:28

The Encapsulation of Cell-free Transcription and Translation Machinery in Vesicles for the Construction of Cellular Mimics

Published on: October 21, 2013

17.5K
Rapid Development of Cell State Identification Circuits with Poly-Transfection
09:21

Rapid Development of Cell State Identification Circuits with Poly-Transfection

Published on: February 24, 2023

2.1K
Silicon Microchips for Manipulating Cell-cell Interaction
23:21

Silicon Microchips for Manipulating Cell-cell Interaction

Published on: August 30, 2007

10.2K

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics
  • Systems biology

Background:

  • Cell surface receptors are mobile and crucial for sensing environmental cues.
  • Efficient signal processing requires optimal sensor placement.
  • Existing strategies lack a unified framework for sensor distribution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the optimal placement strategy for mobile cell surface sensors.
  • To identify the trade-offs between reducing estimation noise and spatial error.
  • To explore the universality of these strategies across different biological systems.

Main Methods:

  • Mathematical modeling of sensor networks.
  • Analysis of spatial and temporal signal estimation.
  • Phase transition analysis based on sensor density and efficiency.

Main Results:

  • An optimal strategy balances sensor clustering (reducing noise) and distribution (reducing spatial error).
  • A phase transition occurs in sensor placement strategies based on density and efficiency.
  • This optimal strategy is conserved across diverse biological contexts.

Conclusions:

  • The optimal placement of cell surface receptors is a conserved biological strategy.
  • This strategy efficiently balances competing objectives for signal detection.
  • Understanding these principles can inform the design of synthetic biological systems.