Related papers: mRNA active transport in oocyte-early embryo: 3D a…
During embryogenesis tissue layers continuously rearrange and fold into specific shapes. Developmental biology identified patterns of gene expression and cytoskeletal regulation underlying local tissue dynamics, but how actions of multiple…
Many morphogenetic processes involve mechanical rearrangement of epithelial tissues that is driven by precisely regulated cytoskeletal forces and cell adhesion. The mechanical state of the cell and intercellular adhesion are not only the…
In multicellular organisms, relations among parts and between parts and the whole are contextual and interdependent. These organisms and their cells are ontogenetically linked: an organism starts as a cell that divides producing…
Cytoplasmic streaming, the coherent flow of cytoplasm, plays a critical role in transport and mixing over large scales in eukaryotic cells. In many large cells, this process is driven by active forces at the cell boundary, such as cortical…
During the early-stages of embryo development, morphogenesis--- the emergence of shape and form in living organisms--- is almost exclusively associated with monolayers of tightly bound epithelial cells. To understand how such tissues change…
Cell crawling on flat substrates is based on intracellular flows of the actin cytoskeleton that are driven by both actin polymerization at the front and myosin contractility at the back. The new experimental tool of optogenetics makes it…
The proper positioning of the mitotic spindle is crucial for asymmetric cell division and generating cell diversity during development. Proper position in the single-cell embryo of Caenorhabditis elegans is achieved initially by the…
We present a continuum level analytical model of a droplet of active contractile fluid consisting of filaments and motors. We calculate the steady state flows that result from a splayed polarisation of the filaments. We account for the…
Cells control fluid flows with a spatial and temporal precision that far exceeds the capabilities of current microfluidic technologies. Cells achieve this superior spatio-temporal control by harnessing dynamic networks of cytoskeleton and…
Various challenges are faced when animalcules such as bacteria, protozoa, algae, or sperms move autonomously in aqueous media at low Reynolds number. These active agents are subject to strong stochastic fluctuations, that compete with the…
Accurately identifying oocytes that progress to the blastocyst stage is crucial in reproductive medicine, but the limited availability of annotated high-quality embryo images presents challenges for developing automated diagnostic tools. To…
Cell migration is a fundamental process underlying the survival and function of both unicellular and multicellular organisms. Crawling motility in eukaryotic cells arises from cyclic protrusion and retraction driven by the cytoskeleton,…
During development of biological organisms, multiple complex structures are formed. In many instances, these structures need to exhibit a high degree of order to be functional, although many of their constituents are intrinsically…
Angiogenesis is the process wherein endothelial cells (ECs) form sprouts that elongate from the pre-existing vasculature to create new vascular networks. In addition to its essential role in normal development, angiogenesis plays a vital…
How intelligence emerges from living beings has been a fundamental question in neuroscience. However, it remains largely unanswered due to the complex neuronal dynamics and intricate connections between neurons in real neural systems. To…
Fluid-resistance limited transport of vesicles through narrow constrictions is a recurring theme in many biological and engineering applications. Inspired by the motor-driven movement of soft membrane-bound vesicles into closed neuronal…
Vascular networks play a key role in the development, function, and survival of many organisms, facilitating transport of nutrients and other critical factors within and between systems. The development of these vessel networks has been…
Intracellular components explore the cytoplasm via active motor-driven transport in conjunction with passive diffusion. We model the motion of organelles in narrow tubular cells using analytical techniques and numerical simulations to study…
Dorsal closure is a process that occurs during embryogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster. During dorsal closure, the amnioserosa (AS), a one-cell thick epithelial tissue that fills the dorsal opening, shrinks as the lateral epidermis sheets…
Gene transcription is a critical step in gene expression. The currently accepted physical model of transcription predicts the existence of a physical limit on the maximal rate of transcription, which does not depend on the transcribed gene.…