Related papers: Fluid flows shaping organism morphology
Shape anisotropy of individual building blocks plays a crucial role in creating exotic structures and controlling phase behavior in equilibrium systems. We present a combined experimental and simulation study in which we used light-driven…
The evolution of multicellular organisms from monocellular ancestors represents one of the greatest advances of the history of life. The assembly of such multicellular organisms requires signalling and response between cells: over millions…
Plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum is a large cell, visible by unaided eye, which exhibits sophisticated patterns of foraging behaviour. The plasmodium's behaviour is well interpreted in terms of computation, where data are spatially…
Morphogenesis emerges from dynamic feedback among geometry, mechanics, and chemistry; however, disentangling these contributions in living systems remains challenging. Here, we focus on the interplay between geometry and mechanics by…
Fiberboids are active filaments trapped at the interface of two phases, able of harnessing energy (and matter) fluxes across the interface in order to produce a rolling-like self-propulsion. We discuss several table-top examples and develop…
Transport networks play a key role across four realms of eukaryotic life: slime molds, fungi, plants, and animals. In addition to the developmental algorithms that build them, many also employ adaptive strategies to respond to stimuli,…
Our knowledge of how individual cells self-organize to form complex multicellular systems is being revolutionized by a data outburst, coming from high-throughput experimental breakthroughs such as single-cell RNA sequencing and spatially…
In this thesis, we have studied the large scale structure and system level dynamics of certain biological networks using tools from graph theory, computational biology and dynamical systems. We study the structure and dynamics of large…
The plasmodium of slime mould Physarum polycephalum behaves as an amorphous reaction-diffusion computing substrate and is capable of apparently intelligent behaviour. But how does intelligence emerge in an acellular organism? Through a…
Nature uses elongated shapes and filaments to build stable structures, generate motion, and allow complex geometric interactions. In this Review, we examine the role of biological filaments across different length scales. From the molecular…
Phyllotactic patterns, i.e. regular arrangements of leaves or seeds around a plant stem, are fascinating examples of complex structures encountered in Nature. In botany, their symmetries develop when a new primordium periodically grows in…
Motility is an essential factor for an organism's survival and diversification. With the advent of novel single-cell technologies, analytical frameworks and theoretical methods, we can begin to probe the complex lives of microscopic motile…
Computing a polygon defining a set of planar points is a classical problem of modern computational geometry. In laboratory experiments we demonstrate that a concave hull, a connected alpha-shape without holes, of a finite planar set is…
We study the spatial distribution of gyrotactic microorganisms transported by a three-dimensional turbulent flow generated by direct numerical simulations. We find that gyrotaxis combines with turbulent fluctuations to produce small scales…
The locomotion of flexible membrane-like organisms on top of curved surfaces appears in different contexts and scales. Still, such dynamics have not yet been quantitatively modeled and no realization of such motion in manmade systems has…
Cord-forming fungi form extensive networks that continuously adapt to maintain an efficient transport system. As osmotically driven water uptake is often distal from the tips, and aqueous fluids are incompressible, we propose that growth…
Recent studies on viscous streaming flows in two dimensions have elucidated the impact of body curvature variations on resulting flow topology and dynamics, with opportunities for microfluidic applications. Following that, we present here a…
Many species of phytoplankton migrate vertically near the surface of the ocean, either in search of light or nutrients. These motile organisms are affected by ocean waves at the surface. We derive a set of wave-averaged equations to…
The morphological dynamics, instabilities and transitions of elastic filaments in viscous flows underlie a wealth of biophysical processes from flagellar propulsion to intracellular streaming, and are also key to deciphering the rheological…
We consider a finite-dimensional model for the motion of microscopic organisms whose propulsion exploits the action of a layer of cilia covering its surface. The model couples Newton's laws driving the organism, considered as a rigid body,…