Theories of active nematic materials have been successful in describing the behavior of living systems in two dimensions. This includes collective migration, creation and self-propulsion of defects, and flow transitions in the presence of confining walls.

The major focus to date has been on the behavior of active material in two dimensions. However, recent experiments have made it possible to study the dynamics of living cells and bacterial colonies in three dimensions. In this talk, I will discuss some of the crucial differences between active nematic materials in two and three dimensions.
I will start with an introduction to active nematics and the reason they are successful in describing the behavior of many living systems. I then present our work on the patterns that are formed by bacteria at the interface of droplets. Finally, I will talk about the differences between active nematic material in two and three dimensions, in terms of topological defects and interfacial instabilities.


https://www.skyroom.online/ch/schoolofnanoscience/weeklyseminars