Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme

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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 42: Active Matter IV (joint session BP/CPP/DY)

CPP 42.1: Invited Talk

Friday, March 21, 2025, 09:30–10:00, H44

Wave propagation in systems of active filaments — •Kirsty Y. Wan — Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, UK

Active hair-like protrusions called cilia are found in many eukaryotes where they produce physiological flows for a variety of functions. Cilia assume a myriad of configurations both external to an organism for the purposes of feeding or swimming motility, but also internally where they mediate mucociliary clearance in vertebrate tissues. Single cilia can propagate large-amplitude non-decaying bending waves, even in the absence of a cell body. These waves assume a variety of stereotyped forms and frequencies, depending on the species. Multiple cilia also interact to produce different types of local and global coordination patterns, including robust metachronal waves. Do these dynamic states of coordination arise spontaneously, or do they require some form of internal control by the cell or animal? We propose new and emerging organisms to address these questions.

Keywords: cilia; active filaments; metachronal waves; synchronization; cell motility