Related papers: Hydrodynamic mechanism for stable spindle position…
Microtubules (MTs) are cytoplasmic protein polymers that are essential for fundamental cellular processes including the maintenance of cell shape, organelle transport and formation of the mitotic spindle. Microtubule dynamic instability is…
Plasma blobs are observed to be weak density enhancements as radially stretched structures emerging from the cusps of quiescent coronal streamers. In this paper, it is suggested that the formation of blobs is a consequence of an intrinsic…
The use of tank-treading as a means of propulsion for microswimmers in viscous shear flows is taken into exam. We discuss the possibility that a vesicle be able to control the drift in an external shear flow, by varying locally the bending…
During embryonic development, regeneration and homeostasis, cells have to physically integrate into their target tissues, where they ultimately execute their function. Despite a significant body of research on how mechanical forces instruct…
Reproduction and natural selection are the key elements of life. In order to reproduce, the genetic material must be doubled, separated and placed into two new daughter cells, each containing a complete set of chromosomes and organelles. In…
Many plankton species undergo daily vertical migration to large depths in the turbulent ocean. To do this efficiently, the plankton can use a gyrotactic mechanism, aligning them with gravity to swim downwards, or against gravity to swim…
A dynamic mitigation mechanism of the two-stream instability is discussed based on a phase control for plasma and fluid instabilities. The basic idea for the dynamic mitigation mechanism by the phase control was proposed in the paper [Phys.…
The hippocampus supports spatial navigation by encoding cognitive maps through collective place cell activity. We model the place cell population as non-negative spatial embeddings derived from the spectral decomposition of multi-step…
Recent mathematical fluid dynamics models have shed light into an outstanding problem in reproductive biology: why do spermatozoa cells show a 'preference' for swimming near to surfaces? In this paper we review quantitative approaches to…
Epithelial cell clusters often move collectively on a substrate. Mechanical signals play a major role in organizing this behavior. There are a number of experimental observations in these systems which await a comprehensive explanation.…
Using controlled spinodal decomposition, we have created a fluid-bicontinuous structure stabilized by colloidal particles. We present confocal microscopy studies of these structures and their variation with kinetic pathway. Our studies…
Most aquatic vertebrates swim by lateral flapping of their bodies and caudal fins. While much effort has been devoted to understanding the flapping kinematics and its influence on the swimming efficiency, little is known about the stability…
The stability of sand castles is determined by the structure of wet granulates. Experimental data about the size distribution of fluid pockets are ambiguous about their origin. We discovered that contact angle hysteresis plays a fundamental…
Eukaryotic swimming cells such as spermatozoa, algae or protozoa use flagella or cilia to move in viscous fluids. The motion of their flexible appendages in the surrounding fluid induces propulsive forces that balance with the viscous drag…
Microorganisms often encounter strong confinement and complex hydrodynamic flows while navigating their habitats. Combining finite-element methods and stochastic simulations, we study the interplay of active transport and heterogeneous…
Planktonic organisms, despite their passive drift in the ocean, exhibit complex responses to fluid flow, including escape behaviors and larval settlement detection. But what flow signals can they perceive? This paper addresses this question…
Recent work on particle-based models of tissues has suggested that any finite rate of cell division and cell death is sufficient to fluidize an epithelial tissue. At the same time, experimental evidence has indicated the existence of glassy…
T cells use sophisticated shape dynamics (morphodynamics) to migrate towards and neutralise infected and cancerous cells. However, there is limited quantitative understanding of the migration process in 3D extracellular matrices (ECMs) and…
Exocytosis is a common transport mechanism via which cells transport out non-essential macro-molecules (cargo) into the extra cellular space. ESCRT-III proteins are known to help in this. They polymerize into a conical spring like structure…
Stick-slip motion, a common phenomenon observed during crawling of cells, is found to be strongly sensitive to the substrate stiffness. Stick-slip behaviours have previously been investigated typically using purely elastic substrates. For a…