Speaker: Dr. Dapeng Bi, Associate Professor, Department of Physics, Northeastern University

Time: 11:00-12:00 a.m., December 28, 2023, GMT+8

Venue: Floor 3, Lui Che-woo Building, PKU

Abstract: 

In the fascinating journey from a single cell to a fully formed organism, embryonic tissues undergo remarkable transformations to shape vital organs. Similarly, adult animals continually adapt to mechanical forces at the cellular and tissue levels to sustain life functions. This talk explores the delicate balance between the ability of cells to withstand these forces and their collective movement - a dance that is essential for both the growth of embryos and the health of adults. Our work examines both the external forces that tissues encounter and the internal stresses they generate. Using computational modeling, we probe how these external and internal forces intertwine and influence tissue behavior. A key focus is on the moment tissues transition from acting like a solid to behaving like a fluid - a phase we term the jamming/unjamming transition. Here, tissues exhibit fascinating rheological (flow) properties, ranging from yielding and shear thinning to various forms of shear thickening. Our approach offers a window into understanding these complex, nonlinear behaviors in living tissues, providing insights that bridge the fields of physics and biology.

Source: School of Life Sciences, PKU