Nuclear physics (of the cell, not the atom)

Abstract

The nucleus is physically distinct from the cytoplasm in ways that suggest new ideas and approaches for interrogating the operation of this organelle. Chemical bond formation and breakage underlie the lives of cells, but as this special issue of Molecular Biology of the Cell attests, the nonchemical aspects of cell nuclei present a new frontier to biologists and biophysicists.

Actin, actin-binding proteins, and actin-related proteins in the nucleus

“…The nucleus was first observed by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1719, but the function of the nucleus remained unclear in the following three hundred years (Sutton 1903;Boveri 1904;Morgan et al 1915), and the first direct evidence for its function came only in 1962 (Gurdon 1962). The generally accepted view still holds that the nucleus is fundamentally different from the rest of the cell in respect of molecular composition, structure, and physical properties (Pederson and Marko 2014). Although the analysis of the cell nucleus still faces many technical difficulties and its compact organization is yet to be understood, current developments in understanding epigenetic regulation (Alexander and Lomvardas 2014;Meagher et al 2009) and the discovery of nuclear bodies (Dundr 2012) or chromosome territories (Cremer and Cremer 2001) place the nucleus in the focus of broad scientific interest today.…”

The International Nucleome Consortium

“…How are they produced and controlled? Answers to these questions lie at the interface between molecular cell biology and physics, an area that can now be explored, 10 for the nucleus thanks to the newly available genome engineering and imaging tools to visualize nucleome dynamics at high temporal and spatial resolution in living cells.…”

Cell Biology, Fourth EditionBy Thomas D.Pollard, William C.Earnshaw, Jennifer Lippincott‐Schwartz, and Graham T.Johnson. New York, NY: Elsevier. 2023. pp. 944. $137 (Hardback)

“…I reviewed the second edition and applauded teaching of cell biology as a molecular science. 11 In 1986, another important cell biology textbook came out, Molecular Cell Biology (MCB), authored by James Darnell, Harvey Lodish, and David Baltimore. 12 I reviewed it, too, and pointed out differences in emphasis and balance.…”