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Spontaneous shape transformations of active surfaces
Biological matter has the fascinating ability to autonomously generate material deformations via intrinsic active forces, where the latter are often present within effectively two-dimensional structures. The dynamics of such “active surfaces” inevitably entails a complex, self-organized interplay between geometry of a surface and its mechanical interactions with the surrounding. The impact of these factors on the self-organization capacity of surfaces made of an active material, and how related effects are exploited in biological systems, is largely unknown.
In this talk, I will first discuss general numerical challenges in analysing self-organising active surfaces and the bifurcation structure of emergent shape spaces. I will then focus on active surfaces with broken up-down symmetry, of which the eukaryotic cell cortex and epithelial tissues are highly abundant biological examples. In such surfaces, a natural interplay arises between active stresses and surface curvature. We demonstrate that this interplay leads to a comprehensive library of spontaneous shape transformations that resemble stereotypical morphogenetic processes. These include cell-division-like invaginations and the autonomous formation of tubular surfaces of arbitrary length, both of which robustly overcome well-known shape instabilities that would arise in analogue passive systems.
You are welcome to join the seminar on Teams here: teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MWU2MzJiNjgtYzM2Mi00ZWNkLWFiMjktOGQwOTc0MGRkZDll%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e6ced614-5673-458c-832d-5d4ada66f593%22%7d
Date:
30 January 2025, 12:00
Venue:
Lecture Room 3
Speaker:
Dr Alexander Mietke (University of Oxford)
Organiser:
Alain Goriely (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
Kirkham@maths.ox.ac.uk
Part of:
Industrial & Applied Mathematics Seminar
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Nicola Kirkham
