{"id":1091,"date":"2021-11-26T15:45:57","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T14:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/wordpress_test\/?p=1091"},"modified":"2026-10-19T21:58:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T20:58:05","slug":"living-matter-seems-to-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/2021\/11\/26\/living-matter-seems-to-live\/","title":{"rendered":"Active Polymerlike Physics"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1091\" class=\"elementor elementor-1091\" data-elementor-settings=\"[]\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-section-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-40546aea elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"40546aea\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-9ae1a3d\" data-id=\"9ae1a3d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-66581f98 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"66581f98\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.5.5 - 03-02-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#818a91;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#818a91;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\n<div style=\"font-family:inherit; color:#43545A; line-height:1.7;\">\n\n  <!-- INTRODUCTION -->\n  <p style=\"font-size:19px; line-height:1.7; margin:0 0 18px 0;\">\n    From the microscopic filaments inside living cells to the movement of worms and snakes, <strong style=\"color:#344A52; font-weight:600;\">active polymers<\/strong> are flexible structures that use energy to move and reshape themselves. Their behaviour challenges conventional polymer physics, revealing fascinating forms of motion, collective organisation, and material response.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p style=\"font-size:19px; line-height:1.7; margin:0 0 28px 0;\">\n    In the Soft Matter group, we use living <em>Tubifex tubifex<\/em> worms and chains of self-propelled robots to investigate how active polymers move, entangle, and interact with their surroundings.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <!-- EXPERIMENTAL FEATURE -->\n  <div style=\"background:#F3F8F9; border-radius:14px; padding:24px; margin:28px 0 34px 0;\">\n\n    <div style=\"font-size:12px; color:#10708A; font-weight:700; letter-spacing:1.3px; text-transform:uppercase; margin-bottom:8px;\">\n      Inside the Experiment\n    <\/div>\n\n    <h3 style=\"font-size:22px; font-weight:650; color:#2D4650; line-height:1.4; margin:0 0 12px 0;\">\n      Navigating complex environments\n    <\/h3>\n\n    <p style=\"font-size:17px; line-height:1.65; margin:0 0 20px 0;\">\n      How do flexible, self-propelled structures find their way through crowded spaces? By observing living worms moving through arrays of microscopic obstacles, we uncover how confinement and geometry influence the transport of active polymers.\n    <\/p>\n\n    <img\n      src=\"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/worm_tracking_maze4-1.gif\"\n      alt=\"Tracking the movement of active Tubifex worms through an array of obstacles\"\n      style=\"display:block; width:40%; max-width:700px; height:auto; margin:0 auto; border-radius:10px;\"\n    \/>\n\n    <p style=\"font-size:13px; color:#74878D; text-align:center; margin:12px 0 0 0;\">\n      Tracking active worm motion through a model porous environment.\n    <\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n  <!-- SECOND RESEARCH DIRECTION -->\n  <div style=\"border-left:3px solid #10708A; padding:2px 0 2px 20px; margin:0 0 36px 0;\">\n\n    <div style=\"font-size:12px; color:#10708A; font-weight:700; letter-spacing:1.2px; text-transform:uppercase; margin-bottom:7px;\">\n      Collective Behaviour\n    <\/div>\n\n    <h3 style=\"font-size:21px; font-weight:600; color:#304750; margin:0 0 9px 0;\">\n      When active polymers become entangled\n    <\/h3>\n\n    <p style=\"font-size:17px; line-height:1.65; margin:0;\">\n      When many active worms interact, their entanglements can dramatically change how the material flows and organises itself. We investigate how these interactions give rise to unusual rheological properties and spontaneous phase separation.\n    <\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n  <!-- PUBLICATIONS -->\n  <div style=\"border-top:1px solid #DFE8EA; padding-top:27px;\">\n\n    <h3 style=\"font-size:23px; font-weight:650; color:#243E47; margin:0 0 7px 0;\">\n      Research Highlights\n    <\/h3>\n\n    <p style=\"font-size:16px; color:#667A80; margin:0 0 23px 0;\">\n      Exploring the mechanics and collective behaviour of living polymer-like systems.\n    <\/p>\n\n    <!-- PAPER 1 -->\n    <div style=\"padding:0 0 22px 0; margin-bottom:22px; border-bottom:1px solid #E3EBED;\">\n\n      <div style=\"font-size:12px; font-weight:700; letter-spacing:1px; color:#10708A; margin-bottom:8px;\">\n        RHEOLOGY &nbsp;\u00b7&nbsp; 2020\n      <\/div>\n\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1103\/PhysRevLett.124.188002\"\n         target=\"_blank\"\n         rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n         style=\"font-size:19px; font-weight:600; color:#10708A; line-height:1.45; text-decoration:none;\">\n        Rheology of Entangled Active Polymer-Like <em>T. Tubifex<\/em> Worms &nearr;\n      <\/a>\n\n      <p style=\"font-size:14px; color:#74868B; margin:7px 0 10px 0;\">\n        A. Deblais, S. Woutersen &amp; D. Bonn &nbsp;\u00b7&nbsp; <em>Physical Review Letters<\/em>\n      <\/p>\n\n      <p style=\"font-size:16px; line-height:1.65; margin:0 0 10px 0;\">\n        Investigating how living, entangled worms respond to deformation, revealing the unusual mechanical properties of active polymer networks.\n      <\/p>\n\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/1910.09612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" style=\"font-size:14px; color:#10708A; text-decoration:none;\">\n        Read paper &nearr;\n      <\/a>\n\n    <\/div>\n\n    <!-- PAPER 2 -->\n    <div style=\"padding:0 0 4px 0;\">\n\n      <div style=\"font-size:12px; font-weight:700; letter-spacing:1px; color:#10708A; margin-bottom:8px;\">\n        SELF-ORGANISATION &nbsp;\u00b7&nbsp; 2020\n      <\/div>\n\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1103\/PhysRevLett.124.208006\"\n         target=\"_blank\"\n         rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n         style=\"font-size:19px; font-weight:600; color:#10708A; line-height:1.45; text-decoration:none;\">\n        Phase Separation by Entanglement of Active Polymerlike Worms &nearr;\n      <\/a>\n\n      <p style=\"font-size:14px; color:#74868B; margin:7px 0 10px 0;\">\n        A. Deblais, D. Bonn &amp; S. Woutersen &nbsp;\u00b7&nbsp; <em>Physical Review Letters<\/em>\n      <\/p>\n\n      <p style=\"font-size:16px; line-height:1.65; margin:0 0 10px 0;\">\n        Demonstrating how physical entanglements between active worms can drive spontaneous clustering and phase separation without attractive interactions.\n      <\/p>\n\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/1912.05951\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" style=\"font-size:14px; color:#10708A; text-decoration:none;\">\n        Read paper &nearr;\n      <\/a>\n\n    <\/div>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n<!-- RESEARCH CONTACT -->\n<div style=\"background:#F2F7F8; border-radius:10px; padding:17px 21px; margin-top:32px;\">\n\n  <div style=\"font-size:12px; font-weight:700; letter-spacing:1px; color:#10708A; text-transform:uppercase; margin-bottom:5px;\">\n    Research Contact\n  <\/div>\n\n  <p style=\"font-size:16px; color:#43545A; margin:0;\">\n    <strong style=\"color:#344A52;\">Daniel Bonn<\/strong>\n    &nbsp;\u00b7&nbsp;\n    <a href=\"mailto:d.bonn@uva.nl\" style=\"color:#10708A; text-decoration:none;\">\n      d.bonn@uva.nl &nearr;\n    <\/a>\n  <\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We use living worms and active robotics chains as a macroscopic model to investigate their behavior in a variety of situations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1091"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5060,"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions\/5060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iop.fnwi.uva.nl\/scm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}