“It was quite surprising how well the experimental data and numerical simulations matched,” Eckert said. In fact, it was such a good match that Carenza’s first reaction was that it must be wrong. The research team jokingly said they were worried that reviewers would think they had cheated. “It was really beautiful,” Karenza said.
The observation answered “a long-standing question about the type of order that exists within organizations,” he said. Joshua Shaywitz, a physicist at Princeton University who peer reviewed the paper (and didn’t think they had cheated). Science often becomes “fuzzy,” he said, when data point to seemingly contradictory truths, in this case nested symmetries. “Then someone points out or shows that, well, those things aren’t that clear-cut. They’re both right.”
form, power, function
Precisely defining the symmetry of liquid crystals is not just a mathematical task. Depending on the symmetry, a crystal’s stress tensor (the matrix that describes how a material deforms under stress) looks different. This tensor is a mathematical link to the fluid dynamics equations that Giomi wanted to use to connect physical forces and biological functions.
Applying the physics of liquid crystals to tissues is a new way to understand the complex and complex world of biology, Hurst said.
Although the exact effects of the transition from hexatic to nematic order are not yet clear, the researchers suspect that cells may exert some control over the transition.There is even evidence The emergence of nematic order is associated with cell adhesion, they said. Figuring out how and why tissues exhibit these two intertwined symmetries is a future project, but Giomi is already using the results to study how cancer cells move through the body as they metastasize. I’m working on understanding how it flows. And Shaywitz pointed out that the tissue’s multiscale liquid crystallinity may be related to embryogenesis, the process by which embryos form themselves into living organisms.
If there’s one central tenet of tissue biophysics, Giomi says, it’s that structure creates force, and force creates function. In other words, control of multiscale symmetry may be part of the mechanism by which the sum of tissues exceeds the sum of cells.
Giomi says there is a “triangle of form, power, and function.” “Cells use their shape to regulate force and, in turn, serve as engines for the execution of mechanical functions.”
original story Reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, Editorially independent publication simmons foundation Its mission is to enhance the public’s understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics, physical sciences, and life sciences.
