Groups of bacteria can grow into patterned ellipsoidal colonies. How do these complex structures arise?

A simple verticalizing-fluid model shows how the structures are born through waves of mechanical instabilities.

Open source biofilm simulator

Certain types of cells probe and respond to stiffness. What can cells learn by pulling on tissue networks?

We investigated cellular mechanosensing by simulating how biopolymers respond to force dipoles.

Study reveals ways in which cells feel their surroundings

How can a collection of localized sensors infer the overall stiffness of a material?

Sensory information is bounded by elasticity. These bounds can be reached with sensory multiplexing.

Sensing in a disordered medium

Senti en malorda medio

Notebook to optimize a model sensor

Over time, cells lose genes encoding protein-producing factories. What might cells do to maintain enough genes to survive?

The Yamashita Lab and I explored stochastic equations of gene copy number to learn how preferential inheritance can guard the fidelity of DNA during aging.