Monomer Depletion, Pressure Difference, and Membrane Tube Radius Reduction due to Fiber Polymerization in Microspikes - Rob Daniels (Physical Review Letters, 2008)
The growth of microspikes on the exterior of cells is vital to many processes required for life. This work is important in that it gives for the first time a comprehensive and novel theory for such microspike dynamics. The significance of this work is that now we understand theoretically the mechanisms behind microspike dynamics, we can begin to alter them physiochemically, and potentially devise new therapeutics for many life threatening diseases where microspike growth goes awry.