The theme of our work has been to measure, to identify, and to formulate the forces that are important to the organization of macromolecules and membranes. Specifically, using the osmotic stress technique we have measured force vs. distance between membranes or between macromolecules in ordered arrays. We have found that the nature of the forces previously and still commonly assumed in order to explain molecular organization and subcellular assembly are not accurate. Happily, though, the fairly extensive catalog of information that we are acquiring is allowing us to open new ways to think about the molecular basis of cellular function.
