Freitag, 26. Juni 2026 17:00 Uhr Mechanical Information Processing in Adherent Cells
Prof. Margaret Gardel, Department of Physics, University of Chicago, USA Mechanical Information Processing in Adherent Cells Prof. Margaret Gardel Department of Physics, University of Chicago, USA Living matter is fundamentally different from the materials we typically study in physics. Non-living materials, like solids and fluids require external forces to move or deform, and their configurations are dominated by minimization of energy. Living cells do something else entirely: they continuously consume chemical energy to move, change shape, sense their environment, and adapt. They are physical systems driven far from equilibrium, and understanding them requires new physical concepts beyond our standard toolbox. In this talk, I will describe how the interior of a living cell functions as an active soft material: a force-generating network of proteins that continuously remodels itself using chemical fuel. I will discuss the design principles by which this material — the cellular cytoskeleton — senses mechanical forces, generates them, and adapts its structure in response. Remarkably, this mechanical activity is tightly coupled to the biochemical and genetic programs that govern what a cell does and what it becomes — a form of mechanical information processing embedded in living matter itself. Understanding these principles has broad implications, governing fundamental processes including how tissues form, how organs maintain their integrity, and how cells make fate decisions during development.
