Jun 11. 2025, 11:00 — 11:30
Growth is a crucial feature of living systems, that sets them apart from most inanimate physical systems. I will discuss how statistical physics can shed light on the properties of growing living systems. Specifically, I will study growth of cell colonies and how their growth is coordinated with DNA replication. I will use similar ideas to predict how epidemic spreads in complex networks. Finally, by analyzing the spatial distribution of chromatophores on squid skin, I will show how tissue growth leads to a novel, unexpected physics of disordered packing.
References:
Pigolotti S. Generalized Euler-Lotka equation for correlated cell divisions. Physical Review E 103(6):L060402 (2021).
Pflug FG, Bhat D, Pigolotti S. Genome replication in asynchronously growing microbial populations. PLOS Computational Biology. 20(1):e1011753 (2024).
Cure S, Pflug FG, Pigolotti S. Exponential rate of epidemic spreading on complex networks. Physical Review E 111(4):044311 (2025).
Ross RJ, Masucci GD, Lin CY, Iglesias TL, Reiter S, Pigolotti S. Hyperdisordered cell packing on a growing surface. Physical Review X (in press, 2025).