Theories of collective dynamics and active matter constitute a set of analytical and computational techniques used to model systems of self-driven units that convert internal or ambient energy into persistent motion, leading to emergent nonequilibrium phenomena. These techniques include continuum hydrodynamic theories, kinetic theory approaches, and agent-based modeling frameworks that describe pattern formation, phase separation, flocking, and anomalous transport in active systems. They provide mathematical tools to derive effective equations of motion, quantify correlations and fluctuations, and predict macroscopic behavior from microscopic interaction rules, enabling systematic analysis of biological, synthetic, and granular active materials beyond equilibrium statistical mechanics.
Many materials, both living and engineered, are powered from within. Scientists have thoroughly investigated how such 'active' materials operate, but so far, mostly in circumstances where the curvature of the environment ...
Soft Matter
17 hours ago
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The strongest glasses have an Achilles' heel that causes them to fail catastrophically when pushed past their limit. They do not bend or stretch, as all damage concentrates into a single plane and the material fails in an ...
Soft Matter
Aug 16, 2026
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In ant colonies, a single ant can be the catalyst for a wave of mob activity, launching brief bursts of coordinated movement involving hundreds or even thousands of swarming workers, according to new simulations from New ...
Ecology
Aug 15, 2026
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From schools of fish and flocks of birds to microscopic synthetic particles, many systems in nature and the laboratory consist of individual units or agents that move by consuming energy. These systems are known as active ...
General Physics
Aug 9, 2026
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Physicists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), the Technical University of Darmstadt, Sapienza University in Rome and the University of Camerino (both in Italy) have calculated the fundamental laws of thermodynamics ...
General Physics
Jul 27, 2026
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Steep hillsides and mountainsides in many regions worldwide are often covered in characteristic step-like patterns, also known as terracettes. These repeating landforms have fascinated scientists for more than a century, ...
In a new study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have resolved a longstanding mystery by showing how epithelial tissues exhibit slow-moving, glass-like behavior despite their fast-paced biological activity. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 9, 2026
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There is a constant war going on in your body. Working against you are viruses and cancer cells growing uncontrollably, threatening your tissues and organs. Fighting on your side are immune cells such as lymphocytes, a type ...
One of the most striking biological transitions in nature happens early in development, when an embryo transforms from a simple ball of cells into a highly ordered structure with distinct tissue layers that later develop ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 30, 2026
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When Jasmin Imran Alsous peered down her microscope lens, she expected to see chaos—a mishmash of tangled cells. She was viewing the inside of a male fruit fly's sperm storage organ, using a powerful microscope at the CCBScope ...
Evolution
Jun 22, 2026
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