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.
Nematic materials are made of elongated molecules that align in a preferred direction, but, like in a fluid, are spaced out irregularly. The best-known nematic materials are liquid crystals, which are used in liquid crystal ...
Condensed Matter
Jul 31, 2025
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Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have created the world's simplest artificial cell capable of chemical navigation, migrating toward specific substances like living cells do.
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 25, 2025
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242
In every living cell, there are membranes, and in every membrane there are proteins, each of which acts as a chemical gatekeeper.
Bio & Medicine
Jul 21, 2025
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Insects use a wax layer on their bodies to prevent water loss. Furthermore, they use the layer for communication. Although the chemical composition of this layer has been extensively studied, researchers at Johannes Gutenberg ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2025
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23
Scientists have created tiny disk-shaped particles that can swim on their own when hit with light, akin to microscopic robots that move through a special liquid without any external motors or propellers.
Biotechnology
Jun 27, 2025
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60
Earthworms often form a cluster, from which they can barely free themselves. A similarly active, writhing structure forms when the tentacles of lion's mane jellyfish become entangled. Robotic grippers utilize this principle ...
Soft Matter
Jun 16, 2025
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All humans who have ever lived were once each an individual cell, which then divided countless times to produce a body made up of about 10 trillion cells. These cells have busy lives, executing all kinds of dynamic movement: ...
General Physics
Jun 12, 2025
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48
Limited penetration depth into tumor tissues continues to hinder the development of nanotherapeutics for cancer treatment. A novel self-propelled ferroptosis nanoinducer developed by Southern Medical University was able to ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 10, 2025
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17
Materials with self-adaptive mechanical responses have long been sought after in material science. Using computer simulations, researchers at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Hyderabad, now show how such ...
Soft Matter
May 19, 2025
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40
From microscopic robots that can carry and deliver drugs inside the human body to tiny particles that can detect and break down microplastics, an emerging field called active matter is looking toward the microscale to solve ...
Nanophysics
Apr 22, 2025
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