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SUMMARY:Multiscale liquid crystal order in biological tissues - Luca Giomi
DTSTART:20230907T120000Z
DTEND:20230907T130000Z
UID:TALK204730@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:115708
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Biological processes such as embryogenesis\, wound h
 ealing and cancer progression\, crucially rely on the ability of epithelia
 l cells to coordinate their mechanical activity over length scales order o
 f magnitudes larger than the typical cellular size. While regulated by var
 ious signalling pathways\, it has recently become evident that this behavi
 or can additionally hinge on a minimal toolkit of physical mechanisms\, of
  which liquid crystal order is the most prominent example. In this talk\, 
 I will review our ongoing theoretical and experimental efforts toward deci
 phering liquid crystal order in epithelial tissues and its role in facilit
 ating cells' collective migration. In particular\, I will show that certai
 n kind of epithelial tissues feature a unique combination of nematic (i.e.
  2-fold) and hexatic (i.e. 6-fold) order\, coexisting at different length 
 scales. Specifically\, hexatic order is prominent at the cellular scale\, 
 while nematic order characterizes the structure of the monolayer at larger
  length scales. This hierarchal structure is expected to complement the co
 mplex network of regulatory pathways that tissues have at their disposal t
 o coordinate the activity of individual cells to achieve multicellular org
 anization.
LOCATION:MR15\,  Centre for Mathematical Sciences\, Wilberforce Road\, Cam
 bridge
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