After successful completion of the course, students are able to:
- Name and explain the most important cytoskeletal structures, such as the cell cortex, the cytokinesic ring, or the mitotic spindle, and be able to describe their roles, structures, and functions.
- Recapitulate the key concepts from the theory of molecular scale motors.
- Understand the basic concepts of active gel theory and are able to apply themto living matter and the cytoskeleton.
- Have gained sufficient knowledge and insight to independently read and understand scientific publications pertaining to the topic areas of the course.
Living materials, such as the cells in our body and the tissues which they form, are fundamentally different from non-living matter. Most importantly, cells and their constituents have access to a reservoir of chemical energy, often from metabolizing food, which they can use to do mechanical work on each other and on their environment. This enables cells to deform, move and divide autonomously, which ultimately is a necessary condition for achieving the diversity of form and function that characterizes life. Thus, understanding living materials has become a core question for the modern physical and biological sciences. The course "Physics of living matter" teaches students how concepts from theoretical physics, statistical mechanics, and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, can be used and extended for the description of living matter. Our discussion will put particular emphasis on one foundational example of living matter, the cytoskeleton, which is the active network of biopolymers and molecular scale motors that enables cells to move. In this context, we will touch upon the theory of molecular scale motors, active gel theory, and the theory of pattern forming processes. After successful completion of the course "Physics of living matter" students will have gained exposure to the fundamental physics, which enables living systems to self-organize on cellular and organismal levels.
