Living matter and active matter, as a physical system, comprise ensembles of constituents that continuously consume energy to generate mechanical work, drive motion, and maintain structures far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Living matter refers to biological active systems such as cells, tissues, and cytoskeletal networks, where internal biochemical processes power self-propulsion, force generation, and adaptive responses. Active matter generalizes these features to biological and synthetic units (e.g., self-propelled colloids, active nematics) modeled as particles or fields with persistent energy input at the microscale. Both exhibit emergent collective phenomena, including spontaneous flows, pattern formation, phase separation, and anomalous transport, governed by nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and continuum active hydrodynamics.
Networks of protein fibers play important roles in living cells. To understand the dynamical behavior of these networks, model networks are needed to perform in vitro studies. However, fabrication of protein networks similar ...
Biotechnology
Jun 2, 2026
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27
Researchers in Spain have discovered that in collectives of moving fire ants, rippling "waves" of density and activity are likely triggered by local regions where ants collectively travel in the same direction as their neighbors.
Living systems such as cells rely on membrane pores and channels to transport molecules, exchange signals, and organize biochemical reactions. These functions emerge from dynamic interactions between molecular components. ...
Bio & Medicine
May 21, 2026
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22
Some animals can move efficiently beneath granular surfaces. These include the sandfish (Scincus scincus), a lizard native to the Sahara. It can burrow into the sand and then literally "swim" through the desert sand to hunt ...
Space Exploration
May 19, 2026
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80
In physics, the spontaneous de-mixing of two substances is known as phase separation. It is an important mechanism in nature to create structure and patterns and typically requires some form of attraction between the constituents. ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 13, 2026
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18
Researchers have recently found a new way to summon useful structures in magnetic materials using light, heat, and electric fields. This new method, described in a new study published in Physical Review Letters, may lead ...
Trying to untangle a knot in a mess of strings can be frustrating and time-consuming. But not so for molecular machines—molecules that convert chemical energy into mechanical work and motion. Machines from the AAA+ family, ...
Biotechnology
Apr 29, 2026
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9
For some time, researchers have assumed that solid materials could gain more useful properties by making their microscopic components more active. Now, a team led by Jack Binysh at the University of Amsterdam has found that ...
The science of memories has been pursued and studied since the days of ancient Greece and Aristotle. Today, research conducted by Dima Bolmatov, assistant professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at Texas Tech University, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 21, 2026
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24
Engineers interested in creating artificial cells to deliver drugs to unhealthy parts of the body face a key challenge: for a cell-like system to move, change shape, or divide, it needs a way to generate force on command.
Biotechnology
Apr 19, 2026
0
30
