We investigate the interplay of domain formation and adhesion in mixed-lipid membranes. Giant unilamellar vesicles consisting of two- and three-component lipid mixtures are studied using confocal fluorescence microscopy. Upon driving the system towards the demixing transition, phase separation is invariably...

Phenylene ethynylenes comprise a prototypical class of synthetic antimicrobial compounds that mimic antimicrobial peptides produced by eukaryotes and have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. We show unambiguously that bacterial membrane permeation by these antimicrobials depends on the presence of...

This unit describes protocols for making giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) based on rehydration of dried lipid films. These model membranes are useful for determining the impact of membrane and membrane-binding components on lipid bilayer stiffness and phase behavior. Due to their large size, they are...

Recent experiments show that the impact of a jet of non-cohesive granular particles produces a highly collimated ejecta sheet. The angle of ejection agrees quantitatively with that produced by the impact of a water jet.  An analogous behavior, the emergence of highly collimated jet upon oblique...

Spin waves were first observed in spin polarized atomic hydrogen gas in the mid 1980's at temperatures between 0.1 and 1.0 K via pulsed NMR. A description of these experiments and their interpretation will be summarized. Later on spin waves have been produced in very dilute helium 3-helium 4 mixtures...

Over 30 years ago researchers investigating the ultimate limits of mechanical detection of gravitational waves understood theoretically how quantum mechanics would appear in these ultra-sensitive mechanical measurements. In the past 10 years the tools to prepare micron-scale mechanical structures...

Bacterial biofilms are structured multicellular communities responsible for lethal infections and catastrophic implant failure in the human body as well as industrial and marine biofouling. Knowing how free-swimming bacteria adapt their motility mechanisms near a surface is crucial for understanding...