Biological systems display a rich phenomenology of states that resemble the physical states
of matter-solid, liquid and gas. These phases result from the interactions between the …

Living systems operate far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Enzymatic activity can induce
broken detailed balance at the molecular scale. This molecular scale breaking of detailed …

Active matter encompasses systems whose individual constituents dissipate energy to exert
propelling forces on their environment. These systems exhibit dynamical phenomena with …

The cellular cytoplasm is a complex, heterogeneous environment (both spatially and
temporally) that exhibits viscoelastic behavior. To further develop our quantitative insight into …

An introduction to the physical properties of living active matter at the mesoscopic scale
(tens of nanometers to micrometers) and their unique features compared with “dead,” …

Epithelial tissues of the developing embryos elongate by different mechanisms, such as
neighbor exchange, cell elongation, and oriented cell division. Since autonomous tissue self …

The dynamics of active particles is of interest at many levels and is the focus of theoretical
and experimental research. There have been many attempts to describe the dynamics of …

A fundamental property of higher eukaryotes that underpins their evolutionary success is
stable cell-cell cohesion. Yet, how intrinsic cell rheology and stiffness contributes to junction …

Epithelial cell tissues have a slow relaxation dynamics resembling that of supercooled
liquids. Yet, they also have distinguishing features. These include an extended short-time …

Many systems, including biological tissues and foams, are made of highly packed units
having high deformability but low compressibility. At two dimensions, these systems offer …