With remarkable precision and reproducibility, cells orchestrate the cooperative action of
thousands of nanometre-sized molecular motors to carry out mechanical tasks at much larger …

Engineering synthetic materials that mimic the remarkable complexity of living organisms is
a fundamental challenge in science and technology. We studied the spatiotemporal patterns …

The study of liquid crystals at equilibrium has led to fundamental insights into the nature of
ordered materials, as well as to practical applications such as display technologies. Active …

INTRODUCTION Conventional nonequilibrium systems are composed of inanimate components
whose dynamics is powered by the external input of energy. For example, in a turbulent …

As an injury heals, an embryo develops or a carcinoma spreads, epithelial cells systematically
change their shape. In each of these processes cell shape is studied extensively whereas …

The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the unjamming transition (UJT) each
comprises a gateway to cellular migration, plasticity and remodeling, but the extent to which …

We investigate the dynamics of an active gel of bundled microtubules (MTs) that is driven by
clusters of kinesin molecular motors. Upon the addition of ATP, the coordinated action of …

We study the dynamics of a tunable 2D active nematic liquid crystal composed of microtubules
and kinesin motors confined to an oil–water interface. Kinesin motors continuously inject …

In development of an embryo, healing of a wound, or progression of a carcinoma, a requisite
event is collective epithelial cellular migration. For example, cells at the advancing front of a …

In microtubule-based active nematics, motor-driven extensile motion of microtubule bundles
powers chaotic large-scale dynamics. We quantify the interfilament sliding motion both in …