Mechanobiology of living cells: From sub-cellular processes to evolution

Organisers

Living cells and their functioning rely on elegant mechanisms that bring both theoretical and experimental challenges to physicists. With a typical size of tens of micrometers, a living cell is a highly sophisticated system that relies on a constant consumption of energy to self-organize its interior, in the precise and efficient manner necessary to ensure its survival. Many of the cellular processes involve cytoskeleton filaments and molecular motors, which exert forces by moving along the filaments while using the energy from ATP. While the functioning of molecular motors and their interactions with filaments have been well characterized by now, how they work collectively to sustain the cell’s vital processes is not yet understood. One prominent example of self-organization is the mitotic spindle, an assembly of microtubules made to separate the chromosomes during cell division. Mechanobiological approaches have allowed one to address important questions on how the mitotic spindle functions. In particular, on long timescales, the emerging properties of cells help them to adapt to the environment, which dictates the evolution of single-cellular organisms. This mini-colloquium will focus on recent research, involving experiments and theory in this area at the interface between physics and biology. It should be of interest to physicists working both in biology or in soft condensed matter, or more broadly to anyone curious to explore this branch of physics.

Figure 1: A screenshot from video “The Inner Life of a Cell”, depicting a kinesin motor protein transporting a vesicle by moving along a microtubule.