Related papers: Mushroom spore dispersal by convectively-driven wi…
Fractional transport of particles on a comb structure in the presence of an inhomogeneous convection flow is studied. The large scale asymptotics is considered. It is shown that a contaminant spreads superdiffusively in the direction…
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…
Disease outbreaks, such as those of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003 and the 2009 pandemic A(H1N1) influenza, have highlighted the potential for airborne transmission in indoor environments. Respirable pathogen-carrying droplets…
Long, flexible fibers transported by a turbulent channel flow sample non-linear variations of the fluid velocity along their length. As the fibers tumble and collide with the boundaries, they bounce off with an impulse that propels them…
The COVID19 infection is known to disseminate through droplets ejected by infected individuals during coughing, sneezing, speaking and breathing. The spread of the infection and hence its menace depend on how the virus-loaded droplets…
Foam is an industrially important form of matter, commonly deployed to clean objects and even our own skin, thanks to its ability to absorb oil and particles into its interior. To clean a large area, a foam is spread over a substrate, but…
The role of activity on the hydrodynamic dispersion of bacteria in a model porous medium is studied by tracking thousands of bacteria in a microfluidic chip containing randomly placed pillars. We first evaluate the spreading dynamics of two…
Motile cilia drive biological fluid transport through whip-like beating motions that synchronize into metachronal waves. The lengths of these cilia span three orders of magnitude, from microns in human airways to millimeters in ctenophores.…
COVID-19 pandemic has strikingly demonstrated how important it is to develop fundamental knowledge related to generation, transport and inhalation of pathogen-laden droplets and their subsequent possible fate as airborne particles, or…
In this letter, we show that pore-scale diffusiophoresis of colloidal particles along local salt gradients manifests in the macroscopic dispersion of particles in a porous medium. Despite is transient character, this microscopic phenomenon…
Cells are modeled with spherical grains connected each other. Each cell can shrink and swell by transporting its fluid content to other connected neighbor while still maintaining its density at constant value. As a spherical part of a cell…
From biofilm and colony formation in bacteria to wound healing and embryonic development in multicellular organisms, groups of living cells must often move collectively. While considerable study has probed the biophysical mechanisms of how…
The impact of droplets on concave surfaces is poorly understood, although it is relevant to a mode of dispersal that has evolved independently in several species of plants and fungi. This mode relies on splash-cups, specialized organs that…
Airborne diseases can be transmitted by infectious aerosols in the near field, i.e., in close proximity, or in the far field, i.e., by infectious aerosols that are well mixed within the indoor air. Is it possible to say which mode of…
The phloem vascular system facilitates transport of energy-rich sugar and signaling molecules in plants, thus permitting long range communication within the organism and growth of non-photosynthesizing organs such as roots and fruits. The…
Microbiology is the science of microbes, particularly bacteria. Many bacteria are motile: they are capable of self-propulsion. Among these, a significant class execute so-called run-and-tumble motion: they follow a fairly straight path for…
Starting from a particle model we derive a macroscopic aggregation-diffusion equation for the evolution of slime mold under the assumption of propagation of chaos in the large particle limit. We analyze properties of the macroscopic model…
Conjugation accelerates bacterial evolution by enabling bacteria to acquire genes horizontally from their neighbors. Plasmid donors must physically encounter and connect with recipients to allow plasmid transfer, and different environments…
Bioconvection, a phenomenon arising from the collective motion of motile microorganisms, plays a crucial role in shaping microbial distributions, fluid dynamics, and bloom formation in aquatic environments. While extensive research has…
Living fungal mycelium networks are proven to have properties of memristors, capacitors and various sensors. To further progress our designs in fungal electronics we need to evaluate how electrical signals can be propagated through mycelium…