Event

Cells often live in groups, such as surface attached communities of unrelated bacteria (e.g., biofilms) to multicellular organisms (e.g., animals). Living in groups provides cells with a range of biological benefits, but it also modifies their physics. Groups of cells are mechanically, topologically, geometrically, and functionally constrained by physical interactions. And, in the spirit of Philip Anderson, we often find that multicellular is different. In this talk I will discuss the emergent physics of multicellular growth in bacterial biofilms and lab evolved macroscopic snowflake yeast. In each case, we will see that multicellular growth cannot be understood without considering its physics