Statistical physics of active processes in cells

Abstract

Simple concepts from statistical physics are discussed to describe the transduction of chemical energy of a fuel to mechanical work on the molecular level. Such approaches can characterize general physical features of motor proteins that generate forces in the cell cytoskeleton. In integrated cellular systems such as cilia and hair bundles, cytoskeletal filaments and motors form complex structures and interact in large numbers. In such systems the interplay of filaments and motors can lead to emergent dynamic behaviors such as oscillating collective modes or to wave-like patterns. We discuss general aspects of such dynamic states and relate them to the dynamics of cytoskeletal structures in cells.