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We derive and analyze a novel approach for modeling and computing the mechanical relaxation of incommensurate 2D heterostructures. Our approach parametrizes the relaxation pattern by the compact local configuration space rather than real…
The organization of live cells into tissues and their subsequent biological function involves inter-cell mechanical interactions, which are mediated by their elastic environment. To model this interaction, we consider cells as spherical…
How multicellular life forms evolved out from unicellular ones constitutes a major problem in our understanding of the evolution of our biosphere. A recent set of experiments involving yeast cell populations has shown that selection for…
We introduce various models for cellulose bio-degradation by micro-organisms. Those models rely on complex chemical mechanisms, involve the structure of the cellulose chains and are allowed to depend on the phenotypical traits of the…
Young's moduli of regular two-dimensional truss-like and eye-shape-like structures are simulated by using the finite element method. The structures are the idealizations of soft polymeric materials used in the electret applications. In the…
The spatial structure of the cell is highly organized at all levels: from small complexes and assemblies, to local nano- and micro-clusters, to global, micrometer scales across and between cells. We suggest that this multiscale spatial cell…
Animal morphogenesis often involves significant shape changes of epithelial tissue sheets. Great progress has been made in understanding the underlying cellular driving forces and their coordination through biomechanical feedback loops.…
A liquid foam in contact with a solid surface forms a two-dimensional foam on the surface. We derive the equilibrium equations for this 2D foam when the solid surface is curved and smooth, generalising the standard case of flat Hele Shaw…
Diffusion models are important in tissue engineering as they enable an understanding of molecular delivery to cells in tissue constructs. As three-dimensional (3D) tissue constructs become larger, more intricate, and more clinically…
We consider the impact of surface hydrodynamics on the interplay between curvature and composition in coarsening processes on model systems for biomembranes. This includes scaling laws and equilibrium configurations, which are investigated…
Cells exhibit qualitatively different behaviors on substrates with different rigidities. The fact that cells are more polarized on the stiffer substrate motivates us to construct a two-dimensional cell with the distribution of focal…
The organization of live cells to tissues is associated with the mechanical interaction between cells, which is mediated through their elastic environment. We model cells as spherical active force dipoles surrounded by an infinite elastic…
Experimental studies of cell motility in culture have shown that under adequate conditions these living organisms possess the ability to organize themselves into complex structures. Such structures may exhibit a synergy that greatly…
Since its foundations, more than one hundred years ago, the field of structural biology has strived to understand and analyze the properties of molecules and their interactions by studying the structure that they take in 3D space. However,…
We study the mechanical behavior of two-dimensional cellular tissues by formulating the continuum limit of discrete vertex models based on an energy that penalizes departures from a target area $A_0$ and a target perimeter $P_0$ for the…
Soft surfaces, spanning vastly different environmental and biomedical settings, are frequently colonised by surface-associated bacteria. Yet, how soft surfaces govern bacterial dynamics and their self-organisation into colonies remains…
It is known that mechanical interactions couple a cell to its neighbors, enabling a feedback loop to regulate tissue growth. However, the interplay between cell-cell adhesion strength, local cell density and force fluctuations in regulating…
Cell-cell adhesion plays a vital role in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. One of its functions is regulation of cell migration, such as occurs, e.g. during embryogenesis or in cancer. In this work, we develop a…
For biologically relevant macromolecules such as intrinsically disordered proteins, internal degrees of freedom that allow for shape changes have a large influence on both the motion and function of the compound. A detailed understanding of…
Adhesion-dependent cells actively sense the mechanical properties of their environment through mechanotransductory processes at focal adhesions, which are integrin-based contacts connecting the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton. Here…