We have a remarkable ability to perform complex, coordinated movements without much conscious effort. In addition to the computations required to generate commands for muscles, a key aspect of coordinated motor control is incorporating sensory feedback about the movement. One of the most important feedback routes is through proprioception, the...
Nucleic acids not only are the building blocks of life but also a class of attractive macromolecular therapeutics. However, the delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides into cells has been a major challenge due to their large size and highly negatively charged backbone. Spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) are a class of emerging...
We perform many movements every day without much deliberation. However, moving can be seen as a form of decision-making since one of many possible movements must be selected and executed. The decision-making processes that underlie movements are influenced by various factors, including sensory perception, energetics, time, perceived rates of failure...
Motor planning is fundamental to the performance of everyday reaching movements. The influence of planning is not limited to voluntary movements but extends to involuntary movements initiated in response to sensory stimuli, such as postural perturbations applied to the arm. Stroke alters voluntary reaching and the involuntary response to perturbations,...
Despite improvements to diagnostics and treatment methods, colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Colonoscopies, the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening, can significantly increase the patient’s chance of survival through early detection. However, colonoscopy cost, surgical complications, and patient bowel preparations limit...
The role of nuclei nanoenvironment in cellular function has been a challenging problem in biology due to the lack of chromatin 3-dimension (3D) structure imaging/capturing techniques and theory connecting physical structure of chromatin to transcription. Recent studies on optical properties measurement on biological sample techniques, nanoscale imaging techniques and chromatin...
One method of cancer treatment is to thermally ablate (destroy) tumor masses using heat caused by electric current, or Joule heating. This particular modality is called radiofrequency ablation (RFA), due to the use of electric currents in the 100 kHz to 800 kHz frequency range. Computationally, RFA is simulated as...