Related papers: Approximating Mexican highways with slime mould
The Phychip project is a collaborative European research initiative to design and implement computation using the organism Physarum polycephalum; it is funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) by the European Commission within CORDIS…
Many cellular processes require a polarization axis which generally initially emerges as an inhomogeneous distribution of molecular markers in the cell. We present a simple analytical model of a general mechanism of cell polarization taking…
The discovery of the large-scale structure has transformed our view of galaxy formation and evolution. Filaments of the cosmic web provide key environments that channel the growth of structures. Guided by predictions from cosmological…
Observations of single epidermal cells on flat adhesive substrates have revealed two distinct morphological and functional states, namely a non-migrating symmetric unpolarized state and a migrating asymmetric polarized state. These states…
Spheroids are aggregates of cells that can mimic the cellular organization often found in tissues. They are typically formed through the self-assembly of cells in a culture where there is a promotion of interactions and cell-to-cell…
A detailed understanding of the interface between living cells and substrate materials is of rising importance in many fields of medicine, biology and biotechnology. Cells at interfaces often form epithelia. The physical barrier that they…
Spatial distributions of morphogens provide positional information in developing systems, but how the distributions are established and maintained remains an open problem. Transport by diffusion has been the traditional mechanism, but…
Mesh-like structures, such as mucus gel or cytoskeleton networks, are ubiquitous in biological systems. These intricate structures are composed of cross-linked, semi-flexible bio-filaments, crucial to numerous biological processes. In many…
In eukaryotic cells, mitochondria form networks that range from highly fused interconnected structures to fragmented populations of individual organelles that undergo transient interactions. These structures can be described as temporal…
Intracellular transport is vital for the proper functioning and survival of a cell. Cargo (proteins, vesicles, organelles, etc.) is transferred from its place of creation to its target locations via molecular motor assisted transport along…
We construct electronic oscillator from acellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum. The slime mould oscillator is made of two electrodes connected by a protoplasmic tube of the living slime mould. A protoplasmic tube has an average…
Large-scale structural patterns commonly occur in network models of complex systems including a skewed node degree distribution and small-world topology. These patterns suggest common organizational constraints and similar functional…
The Dynamic Template model of biological cell membranes and the cytoplasm as spatially organised fluid layers is extended to plant cells, and is shown to offer a feasible shear driven mechanism for the co-alignment of internal and external…
We study transport in synthetic, bi-disperse porous structures, with arrays of microchannels interconnected by a nanoporous layer. These structures are inspired by the xylem tissue in vascular plants, in which sap water travels from the…
We implement Kolmogorov-Uspensky machine on a plasmodium of true slime mold {\em Physarum polycephalum}. We provide experimental findings on realization of the machine instructions, illustrate basic operations, and elements of programming.
Liquid diodes are surface structures that facilitate the flow of liquids in a specific direction. When these structures are within the capillary regime, they promote liquid transport without the need for external forces. In nature, they are…
Acellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum is a popular now user-friendly living substrate for designing of future and emergent sensing and computing devices. P. polycephalum exhibits regular patterns of oscillations of its surface…
Transport of molecular motors along protein filaments in a half-closed geometry is a common feature of biologically relevant processes in cellular protrusions. Using a lattice gas model we study how the interplay between active and…
The aim of this work is to quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of flow-driven amoeboid locomotion in small ($\sim$100 $\mu$m) fragments of the true slime mold \phys {\it polycephalum}. In this model organism, cellular contraction drives…
Connectomes are spatially embedded networks whose architecture has been shaped by physical constraints and communication needs throughout evolution. Using a decentralized navigation protocol, we investigate the relationship between the…