Nonequilibrium statistical physics in living systems: The role of energy dissipation for biological functions

Date

Apr 15, 2024

Time

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Speaker

Dr. Yuhai Tu

Affiliation

IBM T. J. Watson Research Center

Series

MPI-PKS Kolloquium

Language

en

Main Topic

Physik

Other Topics

Physik

Description

Living systems from biochemical networks to neural networks are responsible for carrying out precise biological functions and information processing tasks. However, most of these complex networks operate far out of equilibrium in which equilibrium statistical mechanics fails to describe even their steady state properties. It thus remains a major challenge in biological physics to develop a theoretical framework for studying these highly nonequilibrium complex systems. A central problem in living (or active) systems is how they manage to perform vital functions (e.g., adaptation, replication, and computing, etc.) accurately by using highly noisy signals. What are the mechanisms to control noise for accurate information processing? What are the energy costs for implementing these mechanisms? What are the design principles for achieving these biological functions efficiently? In the past 16 years, we have been working to answer these questions in various biochemical systems including ultra-sensitive switch, sensory adaptation, accurate biochemical oscillations, and collective behaviors (e.g., synchronization, flocking, and pattern formation) by using tools and concepts from nonequilibrium statistical physics. In this talk, we will first describe the general background on the topic followed by presenting some of our work related to the role of energy dissipation for important biological functions for sensory adaptation and (if time permits) synchronization of molecular clocks.

Last modified: Apr 15, 2024, 7:36:50 AM