Cell Behavior
Multicellular organisms contain a wide variety of highly specialized cell types. The consistency and robustness of developmental trajectories suggest that complex gene regulatory networks effectively act as low-dimensional cell fate…
Single-cell-resolution spatial transcriptomics profiles gene expression at cellular locations in native tissues, yet accurate cell-type annotation remains challenging: imaging-based platforms are constrained by targeted gene panels, whereas…
Endothelial cells form the linchpin of vascular and lymphatic systems, creating intricate networks that are pivotal for angiogenesis, controlling vessel permeability, and maintaining tissue homeostasis. Despite their critical roles, there…
Nearly all cell models explicitly or implicitly deal with the biophysical constraints that must be respected for life to persist. Despite this, there is almost no systematicity in how these constraints are implemented, and we lack a…
Colorectal cancer (CRC) poses a major public health challenge due to its increasing prevalence, particularly among younger populations. Microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) CRC and deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) CRC constitute 15% of…
Turing patterns are a cornerstone of biological self-organization, yet their emergence typically requires finely tuned parameters occupying narrow regions of high-dimensional space. This poses a fundamental challenge: how can evolving…
The striking variety of macroscopic morphologies displayed by bacterial colonies depends on microscopic environmental and behavioural details in a manner that is currently not well understood. A surprising example is sibling inhibition,…
The orientation of cell division is a major determinant of three-dimensional plant morphogenesis. Whether and how a simple division orientation rule explains the establishment of symmetric body plans is a fundamental question. Testing such…
Formulating quantitative and predictive models for tissue development requires consideration of the complex, stochastic gene expression dynamics, its regulation via cell-to-cell interactions, and cell proliferation. Including all of these…
Chemotaxis is typically modeled in the context of cellular motion towards a static, exogenous source of chemoattractant. Here, we propose a time-dependent mechanism of chemotaxis in which a self-propelled particle ({\it e.g.}, a cell)…
Our understanding of cell division control in bacteria still relies largely on interpreting correlations between phenomenological variables, with limited connection to the underlying molecular mechanisms. Here, we analytically solve a…
T-cell receptor (TCR) interactions with antigenic peptides underpin adaptive immunity and are pivotal for personalized immunotherapy and vaccine development. Despite recent progress, computational modeling of TCR-peptide specificity remains…
Bacterial chemotaxis has long been viewed as operating near the physical limits of sensing, as originally articulated by Berg and Purcell. Recent information-theoretic analyses challenge this view, suggesting that Escherichia coli uses only…
Long-duration human missions to Mars will require autonomous systems capable of converting in situ resources into structural materials, tools, and functional components. More broadly, such systems represent a class of resource-limited…
Virtual cell (VC) models aim to predict cellular responses to any perturbations in silico and have emerged as a promising approach for drug discovery and precision medicine. Yet, a clear gap still remains: while models routinely reported…
Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer. Survival rates are excellent if it is detected early but fall markedly if it metastasises. A key step in early tumour progression is the formation of cell clusters, which can promote…
Cell proliferation and cell movement are fundamentally stochastic processes which lead to variability in the growth and spatial structure of cell populations in many biological settings, such as cell invasion, wound healing, and tumour…
When cells collide, they often exhibit "contact inhibition of locomotion" (CIL), a behavior in which cells repolarize and migrate away from the site of contact. Experimental CIL outcomes are highly variable - why? Here, we develop a minimal…
The coordination of the immune system and its components is essential for the body to maintain a healthy status. Recent clinical studies show that breast cancer patients with high Dendritic cell clustering in tumour draining lymph nodes…
Eukaryotic cells generally sense chemical gradients using the binding of chemical ligands to membrane receptors. In order to perform chemotaxis effectively in different environments, cells need to adapt to different concentrations. We…