Nature demonstrates the efficiency of hierarchically integrated components that work in cooperation to produce a variety of useful phenomena in organisms, such as movement or shape change. A key feature of these components ...

Two main challenges hinder the development of new, broadly useful C–H functionalization reactions: (1) most C–H bonds constitute part of the relatively inert backbone of an organic molecule, so it is difficult to elicit ...

Controlling nano to microscale structuration enables one to alter a material’s optical, wetting, mechanical, and chemical properties. Structuration on this scale can be formed from spherical building blocks; in particular, ...

Evolution of biological systems requires players of multiple layers, from atoms and molecules to organisms and populations. Expression of a gene is operated by molecular machineries for transcription, translation, regulation, ...

Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) combines proton transfer with electron transfer to bypass high-energy intermediates. The ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) family of enzymes catalyzes the conversion of ribonucleotides ...

The capability to transmit information from generation to generation is an essential feature of life. In all terrestrial life, DNA and RNA contain information in the form of a sequence of monomers and are copied in every ...

In the first part of this dissertation, we investigate on the presence of quantum effects in the exciton dynamics of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson photosynthetic complex of green sulfur bacteria using an atomistic Quantum ...

The macrolide class of antibiotics has been widely used to treat bacterial infections for over 65 years. To date, all practical routes to clinically used macrolide antibiotics have relied on the chemical modification of ...

Many applications in photonics rely on the ability to confine light in small volumes. This is commonly achieved by utilizing two or more materials with a large refractive index contrast, such as silicon and silicon dioxide, ...

Mechanical forces in the cell’s natural environment have a crucial impact on growth and behavior, from single-cell gene expression and cell division to the spatial patterning of complex organ architectures. Few areas of ...