Intermittent behavior across scales in biology

Date

Jan 30, 2019

Time

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Speaker

Fernando Peruani

Affiliation

Universität Nizza Sophia-Antipolis, Frankreich

Series

TUD ZIH Kolloquium

Language

en

Main Topic

Physik

Other Topics

Physik, Biologie, Mathematik, Informatik

Description

Intermittent behavior is observed in biological systems at all scales, from bacterial systems to sheep herds. First, I will discuss how Escherichia coli explores surfaces by alternating stop and moving phases. Specifically, I will show that a stochastic three behavioral state model is consistent with the empirical data. The model reveals that the stop frequency of bacteria is tuned at the optimal value that maximizes the diffusion coefficient. These results provide a new perspective on how evolution may have reshaped bacterial motility apparatus. Intermittent motion is also observed in sheep, where again a stochastic three behavioral state model provides a quantitative understanding of the empirical data. However, in sheep, individual transition rates depend on the behavioral state of other individuals and collective behaviors emerge. Specifically, I will show that small sheep herds display highly synchronized intermittent collective motion, with the herd behaving as a self-excitable system.

Last modified: Jan 23, 2019, 7:11:06 PM