Related papers: Buckling without bending: a new paradigm in morpho…
This research proposes a novel morphing structure with shells inspired by the movement of pillbugs. Instead of the pillbug body, a loopcoupled mechanism based on slider-crank mechanisms is utilized to achieve the rolling up and spreading…
Understanding the mechanics of brain embryogenesis can provide insights on pathologies related to brain development, such as lissencephaly, a genetic disease which cause a reduction of the number of cerebral sulci. Recent experiments on…
Tip-driven growth processes underlie the development of many plants. To date, tip-driven growth processes have been modelled as an elongating path or series of segments without taking into account lateral expansion during elongation.…
During embryonic development tissue morphogenesis and signaling are tightly coupled. It is therefore important to simulate both tissue morphogenesis and signaling simultaneously in in silico models of developmental processes. The resolution…
We model the formation and evolution of wrinkles in a floating elastic sheet under uniaxial compression. This is a canonical setup in the study of wrinkling, and whilst its static equilibrium configuration is well characterised, its…
The shapes of epithelial tissues result from a complex interplay of contractile forces in the cytoskeleta of the cells in the tissue, and adhesion forces between them. A host of discrete, cell-based models describe these forces by assigning…
The mechanical behaviour of solid biological tissues has long been described using models based on classical continuum mechanics. However, the classical continuum theories of elasticity and viscoelasticity cannot easily capture the…
The mechanism by which a patterned state accommodates the breaking of translational symmetry by a phase boundary or a sample wall has been addressed in the context of Landau branching in type-I superconductors, refinement of magnetic…
Understanding the dynamics of instabilities along fluid-solid interfaces is critical for the efficacy of focused ultrasound therapy tools (e.g., histotripsy) and microcavitation rheometry techniques. Non-uniform pressure fields generated by…
A biophysical model of epimorphic regeneration based on a continuum percolation process of fully penetrable disks in two dimensions is proposed. All cells within a randomly chosen disk of the regenerating organism are assumed to receive a…
A cellular bleb grows when a portion of the cell membrane detaches from the underlying cortex under the influence of a cytoplasmic pressure. We develop a quantitative model for the growth and dynamics of these objects in a simple…
Many of the cell membrane vital functions are achieved by the self-organization of the proteins and biopolymers embedded in it. The protein dynamics are in part determined by its drag. A large number of these proteins can polymerize to form…
Everyday experience confirms the tendency of adhesive films to detach from spheroidal regions of rigid substrates -- what is a petty frustration when placing a sticky bandage onto an elbow or knee is a more serious matter in the coating and…
Cilia and flagella are hair-like extensions of eukaryotic cells which generate oscillatory beat patterns that can propel micro-organisms and create fluid flows near cellular surfaces. The evolutionary highly conserved core of cilia and…
To obtain crystalline thin films of alpha-Quartz represents a challenge due to the tendency for the material towards spherulitic growth. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that give rise to spherulitic growth can help regulate the growth…
Designing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) synthesis protocols is currently largely driven by trial-and-error, since we lack fundamental understanding of the molecular level mechanisms that underlie their self-assembly processes. Previous…
Bilayers, soft substrates coated with stiff films, are commonly found in nature with examples including skin tissue, vesicles, and organ membranes. They exhibit different types of instabilities when subjected to compression, depending on…
The morphologies of two-dimensional (2D) crystals, nucleated, grown, and integrated within 2D elastic fluids, for instance in giant vesicle membranes, are dictated by an interplay of mechanics, permeability, and thermal contraction.…
Elasticity is a fundamental cellular property that is related to the anatomy, functionality and pathological state of cells and tissues. However, current techniques based on cell deformation, atomic force microscopy or Brillouin scattering…
Thin films, bubbles and membranes are central to numerous natural and engineering processes, i.e., in thin-film solar cells, coatings, biosensors, electrowetting displays, foams, and emulsions. Yet, the characterization and an adequate…