This was a stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable melding of experiment and theory. Special salute to lead author Takahide Mishima and the rest of Shoichi Toyabe’s group at Tohoku, former postdoc Deepak Gupta, and current grad student Callum Wareham @sfuphysics.bsky.social @sfuscience.bsky.social

Is it more efficient to push a molecular motor with a constant force, or at a constant velocity? See our collaborative paper in @physrevlett.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1103/b24h...
and the Focus article
physics.aps.org/articles/v18...
to learn the winner and the why (it’s all about the fluctuations).

Johann du Buisson, Jannik Ehrich, mleighton.bsky.social, davidasivak.bsky.social, and John Bechhoefer introduce a one-coordinate test that infers heat flow to flag “demonic” operation. In kinesin simulations tuned to experiments, the motor grows more demon-like as active fluctuations rise.

Still accepting postdoc applications!

New preprint out today: “Information Thermodynamics of Cellular Ion Pumps”. Led by talented undergraduate student Julián Jiménez-Paz, and working with @davidasivak.bsky.social, we explore the thermodynamics of cellular ion pumps like the sodium-potassium pump.

arxiv.org/abs/2506.11248

Fun new paper by Callum @sfuphysics.bsky.social, on energetically efficient multi-parameter driving of our favorite molecular motor (shout out F1!).
doi.org/10.1103/bm3d...

Congratulations to Matt on his Convocation Medal!

Deadline June 30 for initial application. Happy to discuss. Details: tinyurl.com/4zkdasr9

@sfuscience.bsky.social in Vancouver seeks world-leading applicants in strategic areas that include Biophysics (featuring an internationally recognized and highly collaborative group of researchers centered in @sfuphysics.bsky.social).

Canada Excellence Research Chairs offer $4-8M over eight years to build a world-class research focus.

Postdoc opportunity!
Join us in heavenly Vancouver (Canada) to develop fundamental nonequilibrium stat mech, thermo, and info theory applied to biomolecular machines and in close collaboration with experiment.
Details: www.sfu.ca/physics/siva...

Kudos to Matt for his complete leadership from start to finish on this review, which was invited as a result of his compelling, cohesive, and ground-breaking graduate research!

Check out the CUNY-ITS/Princeton-CPBF symposium tomorrow on Information and Irreversibility itsatcuny.org/calendar/202... featuring @fakhrilab.bsky.social, my colleague John Bechhoefer, and yours truly!

I have openings for graduate students in
@sfuphysics.bsky.social, Chemistry, or MBB. Check out davidsivak.com for our research interests!

Detailed information, including invited speakers: wostmeeting.org
Abstract submission (deadline March 7): tinyurl.com/28lrpwbx
Registration (deadline May 11): tinyurl.com/mr5k3hxh

The sixth annual Workshop on Stochastic Thermodynamics (WOST VI) will be held May 12-16, 2025. This workshop is entirely online and free to attend. 10-minute lightning talks will be chosen from 1-page abstracts, with priority given to early-career researchers.