Detall

Conferenciant: Ricard Alert (Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems and the Center for Systems Biology Dresden).

Resum: Active fluids display striking collective phenomena not possible in passive fluids. In this talk, I will discuss three examples connected with experiments in both biological and artificial systems. First, I will show that dense colonies of the soil bacterium Myxococcus xanthus form active liquid crystals. I will show that topological defects of the cell alignment field induce flows that lead to the formation of new cell layers, triggering the development of multicellular structures called fruiting bodies. Second, I will show that cells lacking cell-substrate adhesions migrate along friction gradients. We call this phenomenon frictiotaxis, which is a new type of cell guidance. Third, I will present a new mechanism for flocking whereby self-propelled particles can align and move collectively despite turning away from each other.,

Link: https://www.ub.edu/portal/web/dp-materia-condensada/inici/-/detall/col-loquis-fmc-prof-ricard-alert.