Related papers: Light-induced cortical excitability reveals progra…
In this paper, we present a 2D numerical model developed to simulate the dynamics of soft, deformable particles. To accommodate significant particle deformations, the particle surface is represented as a narrow shell composed of mass points…
Chemotaxis and haptotaxis have been a main theme in the macroscopic study of bacterial and cellular motility. In this work we investigate the influence these processes have on the shape and motility of fast migrating cells. We note that…
Molecular crystals respond to a light stimulus by bending, twisting, rolling, jumping, or other kinematic behaviors. These behaviors are known to be affected by, among others, the intensity of the incident light, the aspect ratios of…
Proper vertebrae formation relies on a tissue-wide oscillator called the segmentation clock. Individual cellular oscillators in the presomitic mesoderm are modulated by intercellular coupling and external signals, leading to the propagation…
Single-cell organisms and various cell types use a range of motility modes when following a chemical gradient, but it is unclear which mode is best suited for different gradients. Here, we model directional decision-making in chemotactic…
The actomyosin cortex, a thin layer of a cross-linked polymer network near the cell surface, generates active forces that are responsible for cell shape changes. Many developmental processes that involve such cell shape changes, most…
This work probes the role of cell geometry in orienting self-organized fluid flows in the late stage Drosophila oocyte. Recent theoretical work has shown that a model, which relies only on hydrodynamic interactions of flexible, cortically…
We introduce and analyze a mathematical model for the regeneration of planarian flatworms. This system of differential equations incorporates dynamics of head and tail cells which express positional control genes that in turn translate into…
Actin and myosin assemble into a thin layer of a highly dynamic network underneath the membrane of eukaryotic cells. This network generates the forces that drive cell and tissue-scale morphogenetic processes. The effective material…
The behaviour of an organism often reflects a strategy for coping with its environment. Such behaviour in higher organisms can often be reduced to a few stereotyped modes of movement due to physiological limitations, but finding such modes…
We introduce a general theoretical framework to study the shape dynamics of actively growing and remodeling surfaces. Using this framework we develop a physical model for growing bacterial cell walls and study the interplay of cell shape…
In recent times, we experimentally realized a quite efficient modeling of the shape of diffraction-resistant optical beams; thus generating for the first time the so-called Frozen Waves (FW), whose longitudinal intensity pattern can be…
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…
Active materials take advantage of their internal sources of energy to self-organize in an automated manner. This feature provides a novel opportunity to design micron-scale machines with minimal required control. However, self-organization…
Cells are constantly exposed to diverse stimuli-chemical, mechanical, or electrical-that guide their movement. In physiological conditions, these signals often overlap, as seen during infections, where neutrophils and dendritic cells…
In most vertebrate species, the body axis is generated by the formation of repeated transient structures called somites. This spatial periodicity in somitogenesis has been related to the temporally sustained oscillations in certain mRNAs…
This paper deals with flow-induced shape transitions of elastic capsules. The state of the art concerning both theory and experiments is briefly reviewed starting with dynamically induced small deformation of initially spherical capsules…
As small particles skim our airways during breathing, or our intestines during digestion, the surface epithelium is subjected to local exogenous shear that deforms hundreds to thousands of tightly interacting cells. Unlike shear…
We analyze a stimulated revival (echo) effect for the breathing modes of the atomic oscillations in optical lattices. The effect arises from the dephasing due to the weak anharmonicity being partly reversed in time by means of additional…
Light is the tool of the 21st century. New photosensitive tools offer the possibility to monitor and control neuronal activity from the sub-cellular to the integrative level. This ongoing revolution has motivated the development of new…