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By definition, living matter is far from thermal equilibrium. It can exhibit rich dynamics, including self-organized pattern formation, but also stochastic dynamics due to small-number fluctuations, all of which have physiological relevance. We are only at the beginning to find theoretical description of these complex systems, which requires suitable coarse-graining and often multi-scale modeling.

After a brief overview of different biological model systems investigated in our group, I will illustrate our research method by highlighting one example of recent work on self-organized synchronization in cilia carpets. Cilia are slender cell appendages powered by molecular motors that can beat like a whip to pump fluids, which propel not only sperm cells and swimming alga, but are also found on epithelial tissues in our airways. There, dense carpets of cilia beat in a coordinated fashion in the form of traveling waves, e.g., to remove pathogens. To study collective dynamics in these systems, we developed a multi-scale modeling approach by extending classical Lagrangian mechanics of dissipative systems to active systems. Applying this framework to cilia carpets allows us derive an effective equation of motion and thus to apply the toolbox of nonlinear dynamics to characterize the emergence of traveling waves and their robustness to perturbations. We find local but not global synchronization, which provides an intriguing link to Statistical Physics and order in two-dimensional spin systems. Last but not least, local but not global synchronization is also observed experimentally, e.g., in transparent zebrafish as we show in a recent theory-experiment collaboration.

Prof. Benjamin Friedrich
“Dynamics in cells and tissues: Synchronization in cilia carpets”
30 November 2021 // 4.40pm
https://tu-dresden.zoom.us/j/81114437008?pwd=bHluNWZreW1SYnR1Z0FkZWVtaXVyQT09
Meeting-ID: 811 1443 7008 / Kenncode: PK-21!-BF

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