Interphase Chromatin Undergoes a Local Sol-Gel Transition Upon Cell Differentiation Cell differentiation, the process by which stem cells become specialized cells, is associated with chromatin reorganization inside the cell nucleus. Here, we measure the chromatin distribution and dynamics in embryonic stem cells in vivo before and after differentiation. We find that undifferentiated chromatin is less compact, more […]

Emergence of size in living cells The emergence of macroscopic phenomena from interactions of its microscopic components is a problem permeating much of modern physics. Successes include our understanding of phase transitions, while turbulence still remains mostly mysterious. In cell biology, for more than a hundred years, it has been observed that micron-sized structures within […]

Topology and “impossible” electronic devices Since the discovery of quantized Hall effects in the 1980s, topology has provided a useful new paradigm for understanding condensed matter systems, expanding our vocabulary for describing the distinctions between states of matter. I will focus on how topological properties can be harnessed to build otherwise impossible electronic devices--devices whose […]

Title: Photonic Pseudomagnetism and Landau Levels Abstract: When electrons moving in a two-dimensional plane are subject to a perpendicular magnetic field they move in circles called cyclotron orbits as a result of the Lorentz force.  Treated quantum mechanically, these orbits become quantized like the orbitals of an atom, forming highly degenerate states called Landau levels.  In this talk, […]