Polymers with purpose: molecules can squirm free of the pack

Email Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Whatsapp X An individual polymer molecule (artist’s impression) can wriggle out of a pack of similar molecules. Credit: Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library Access through your institution Buy or subscribe When densely packed, long molecular chains, such as chromosomes, in living cells can crawl past their neighbours, computer simulations and theoretical modelling suggest 1 . Access options Access through your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.90 per issue Learn more Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from $1.95 to $39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00767-7 References Höfler, A. H. T. P., Chubak, I., Likos, C. N. & Smrek, J. Phys. Rev. X 16 , 011046 (2026). Article Google Scholar Download references Subjects Physics Latest on: Physics Physics at risk: UK science leader on what’s wrong with the latest funding cuts News Q&A 11 MAR 26 Lense–Thirring precessing magnetar engine drives a superluminous supernova Article 11 MAR 26 Nanophotonic waveguide chip-to-world beam scanning Article 11 MAR 26 Jobs Postdoctoral Associates - Assistant Scientist The University of Miami/UHealth Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center has an exciting opportunity for a Full Time Postdoctoral Assoc. in Biomedical... Miami, Florida Dr. Anna Lasorella and Dr. Antonio Iavarone Application for a tenure-track faculty position Tenure Track Position Jerusalem The Hebrew University Professor of Integrated Immunology The Department of Biology (D-BIOL; www.biol.ethz.ch) at ETH Zurich invites applications for the above-mentioned position. Zurich, Switzerland ETH Zurich PhD Candidate (m/f/d) In cooperation with the BMFTR funded I-CHECK-HEART Consortium Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen (DE) Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V. Faculty Positions at the Center for Machine Learning Research (CMLR), Peking University CMLR's goal is to advance machine learning-related research across a wide range of disciplines. Beijing (CN) Center for Machine Learning Research (CMLR), Peking University