Friction forces determine cytoplasmic reorganization and shape changes of ascidian oocytes upon fertilization.

Contraction and flow of the actin cell cortex have emerged as a common principle by which cells reorganize their cytoplasm and take shape. However, how these cortical flows interact with adjacent cytoplasmic components, changing their form and localization, and how this affects cytoplasmic organization and cell shape remains unclear. Here we show that in ascidian oocytes, the cooperative activities of cortical actomyosin flows and deformation of the adjacent mitochondria-rich myoplasm drive oocyte cytoplasmic reorganization and shape changes following fertilization. We show that vegetal-directed cortical actomyosin flows, established upon oocyte fertilization, lead to both the accumulation of cortical actin at the vegetal pole of the zygote and compression and local buckling of the adjacent elastic solid-like myoplasm layer due to friction forces generated at their interface. Once cortical flows have ceased, the multiple myoplasm buckles resolve into one larger buckle, which again drives the formation of the contraction pole-a protuberance of the zygote's vegetal pole where maternal mRNAs accumulate. Thus, our findings reveal a mechanism where cortical actomyosin network flows determine cytoplasmic reorganization and cell shape by deforming adjacent cytoplasmic components through friction forces.

Quantum electromechanics of a hypersonic crystal.

Recent technical developments in the fields of quantum electromechanics and optomechanics have spawned nanoscale mechanical transducers with the sensitivity to measure mechanical displacements at the femtometre scale and the ability to convert electromagnetic signals at the single photon level. A key challenge in this field is obtaining strong coupling between motion and electromagnetic fields without adding additional decoherence. Here we present an electromechanical transducer that integrates a high-frequency (0.42 GHz) hypersonic phononic crystal with a superconducting microwave circuit. The use of a phononic bandgap crystal enables quantum-level transduction of hypersonic mechanical motion and concurrently eliminates decoherence caused by acoustic radiation. Devices with hypersonic mechanical frequencies provide a natural pathway for integration with Josephson junction quantum circuits, a leading quantum computing technology, and nanophotonic systems capable of optical networking and distributing quantum information.

Disordered Cellulose-Based Nanostructures for Enhanced Light Scattering.

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. Cellulose fibers, such as the one extracted form cotton or woodpulp, have been used by humankind for hundreds of years to make textiles and paper. Here we show how, by engineering light-matter interaction, we can optimize light scattering using exclusively cellulose nanocrystals. The produced material is sustainable, biocompatible, and when compared to ordinary microfiber-based paper, it shows enhanced scattering strength (×4), yielding a transport mean free path as low as 3.5 µm in the visible light range. The experimental results are in a good agreement with the theoretical predictions obtained with a diffusive model for light propagation.

Tuning random lasing in photonic glasses.

We present a detailed numerical investigation of the tunability of a diffusive random laser when Mie resonances are excited. We solve a multimode diffusion model and calculate multiple light scattering in presence of optical gain that includes dispersion in both scattering and gain, without any assumptions about the ß parameter. This allows us to investigate a realistic photonic glass made of latex spheres and rhodamine and to quantify both the lasing wavelength tunability range and the lasing threshold. Beyond what is expected by diffusive monochromatic models, the highest threshold is found when the competition between the lasing modes is strongest and not when the lasing wavelength is furthest from the maximum of the gain curve.