MPI-DS Colloquium: Physics of Living Systems: from embryos to structured active matter
MPI-DS Colloquium
- Datum: 28.05.2025
- Uhrzeit: 14:15 - 15:15
- Vortragende(r): Prof. Sebastian Streichan
- Department of Biological Engineering, UC Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Ort: Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation (MPIDS)
- Raum: Prandtl Lecture Hall and Zoom Meeting ID 959 2774 3389 Passcode: 651129
- Gastgeber: MPI-DS
- Kontakt: gd@ds.mpg.de
Morphogenesis is a dynamic process that casts a cell collective, via growth and coordinated rearrangements into precisely shaped and structured units that we recognize as organs and bodies. Developmental biology uncovered much about genetic regulators that endow the embryonic cell collective with a sense of positional information. This coordinate system contains information that determines what kind of structure is built where. How shape and structure emerges remains an unsolved problem, that requires bridging the gap from the molecular level to the organ scale.
In the talk I will discuss morphogenesis as an emerging problem of the physics of collective phenomena. My group has developed experimental multi scale tools for live visualization of entire embryos, and precise, instantaneous perturbation at the sub cellular level. Combined with quantitative analysis and simple theoretical considerations, we establish the dynamic rules of morphogenesis. In particular I will focus on mechanical aspects, i) outlining our steps towards a quantitative understanding of organ shape, and ii) how this work informs new opportunities to break free from embryos. By exposing stem cell collectives to precisely formulated initial conditions, we gain control over the self-organized process of morphogenesis, and develop new structured active matter.
In the talk I will discuss morphogenesis as an emerging problem of the physics of collective phenomena. My group has developed experimental multi scale tools for live visualization of entire embryos, and precise, instantaneous perturbation at the sub cellular level. Combined with quantitative analysis and simple theoretical considerations, we establish the dynamic rules of morphogenesis. In particular I will focus on mechanical aspects, i) outlining our steps towards a quantitative understanding of organ shape, and ii) how this work informs new opportunities to break free from embryos. By exposing stem cell collectives to precisely formulated initial conditions, we gain control over the self-organized process of morphogenesis, and develop new structured active matter.