Circular dichroism spectra of naturally occurring molecules and also of synthetic chiral arrangements of plasmonic particles often exhibit characteristic bisignate shapes. Such spectra consist of peaks next to dips (or vice versa) and result from the superposition of signals originating from many individual chiral objects oriented randomly in solution. Here we show that by first aligning and then toggling the orientation of DNA-origami-scaffolded nanoparticle helices attached to a substrate, we are able to reversibly switch the optical response between two distinct circular dichroism spectra corresponding to either perpendicular or parallel helix orientation with respect to the light beam. The observed directional circular dichroism of our switchable plasmonic material is in good agreement with predictions based on dipole approximation theory. Such dynamic metamaterials introduce functionality into soft matter-based optical devices and may enable novel data storage schemes or signal modulators.

The traditional picture of tissues, where they are treated as liquids defined by properties such as surface tension or viscosity has been redefined during the last few decades by the more fundamental question: under which conditions do tissues display liquid-like or solid-like behaviour? As a result, basic concepts arising from the treatment of tissues as solid matter, such as cellular jamming and glassy tissues, have shifted into the current focus of biophysical research. Here, we review recent works examining the phase states of tissue with an emphasis on jamming transitions in cancer. When metastasis occurs, cells gain the ability to leave the primary tumour and infiltrate other parts of the body. Recent studies have shown that a linkage between an unjamming transition and tumour progression indeed exists, which could be of importance when designing surgery and treatment approaches for cancer patients.

All eukaryotic cells rely on the active self-organization of protein filaments to form a responsive intracellular cytoskeleton. The necessity of motility and reaction to stimuli additionally requires pathways that quickly and reversibly change cytoskeletal organization. While thermally driven order-disorder transitions are, from the viewpoint of physics, the most obvious method for controlling states of organization, the timescales necessary for effective cellular dynamics would require temperatures exceeding the physiologically viable temperature range. We report a mechanism whereby the molecular motor myosin II can cause near-instantaneous order-disorder transitions in reconstituted cytoskeletal actin solutions. When motor-induced filament sliding diminishes, the actin network structure rapidly and reversibly self-organizes into various assemblies. Addition of stable cross linkers was found to alter the architectures of ordered assemblies. These isothermal transitions between dynamic disorder and self-assembled ordered states illustrate that the interplay between passive crosslinking and molecular motor activity plays a substantial role in dynamic cellular organization.