Related papers: Minimal branching and fusion morphogenesis approac…
Many real-world networks, ranging from subway systems to polymer structures and fungal mycelia, do not form by the incremental addition of individual nodes but instead grow through the successive extension and intersection of lines or…
Many foraging microorganisms rely upon cellular transport networks to deliver nutrients, fluid and organelles between different parts of the organism. Networked organisms ranging from filamentous fungi to slime molds demonstrate a…
Highly-optimized complex transport networks serve crucial functions in many man-made and natural systems such as power grids and plant or animal vasculature. Often, the relevant optimization functional is non-convex and characterized by…
Space-saving design is a requirement that is encountered in biological systems and the development of modern technological devices alike. Many living organisms dynamically pack their polymer chains, filaments or membranes inside of…
In this work, we introduce a spatial branching process to model the growth of the mycelial network of a filamentous fungus. In this model, each filament is described by the position of its tip, the trajectory of which is solution to a…
The brain can be considered as a system that dynamically optimizes the structure of anatomical connections based on the efficiency requirements of functional connectivity. To illustrate the power of this principle in organizing the…
A large variety of real systems are composed by entities in relationships which can be represented by networks. In many of these systems, elements are embedded in the space and location information impacts properties and evolution. Local…
Biological transport networks are highly optimized structures that ensure power-efficient distribution of fluids across various domains, including animal vasculature and plant venation. Theoretically, these networks can be described as…
A plethora of computational models have been developed in recent decades to account for the morphogenesis of complex biological fluid networks, such as capillary beds. Contemporary adaptation models are based on optimization schemes where…
Cells self-organize into functional, ordered structures during tissue morphogenesis, a process that is evocative of colloidal self-assembly into engineered soft materials. Understanding how inter-cellular mechanical interactions may drive…
Transportation and distribution networks are a class of spatial networks that have been of interest in recent years. These networks are often characterized by the presence of complex structures such as central loops paired with peripheral…
Proper lung functioning requires not only a correct structure of the conducting airway tree, but also the simultaneous development of smooth muscles and vasculature. Lung branching morphogenesis is strongly stereotyped and involves the…
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,…
Inspired by studies on the airports' network and the physical Internet, we propose a general model of weighted networks via an optimization principle. The topology of the optimal network turns out to be a spanning tree that minimizes a…
We describe a hybrid agent-based model and simulation of urban morphogenesis. It consists of a cellular automata grid coupled to a dynamic network topology. The inherently heterogeneous properties of urban structure and function are taken…
The brain's connectome and the vascular system are examples of physical networks whose tangible nature influences their structure, layout, and ultimately their function. The material resources required to build and maintain these networks…
Many organs of higher organisms, such as the vascular system, lung, kidney, pancreas, liver and glands, are heavily branched structures. The branching process during lung development has been studied in great detail and is remarkably…
We show that abrupt structural transitions can arise in functionally optimal networks, driven by small changes in the level of transport congestion. Our results offer an explanation as to why so many diverse species of network structure…
The formation of self-organized patterns is key to the morphogenesis of multicellular organisms, although a comprehensive theory of biological pattern formation is still lacking. Here, we propose a minimal model combining tissue mechanics…
The spongy mesophyll is a complex, porous tissue found in plant leaves that enables carbon capture and provides mechanical stability. Unlike many other biological tissues, which remain confluent throughout development, the spongy mesophyll…