Mathematics Colloquium
The biofluids of locomotion: perspectives on modeling
Speaker: Lisa Fauci, Tulane University
Location: Warren Weaver Hall 1302
Date: Monday, October 30, 2023, 3:45 p.m.
Synopsis:
At the macroscale, the undulatory swimming gait of a fish emerges from the coupling of neural signaling, passive body properties, and muscle mechanics with the surrounding fluid environment.
At the microscale, hydrodynamics govern the feeding performance of unicellular and colonial protists that use flagella to swim and to create a water current transporting bacterial prey to a food-capturing collar of microvilli. These are two examples of systems in biological fluid dynamics that we have modeled in collaboration with experimentalists . We will discuss the choices made in model development and computational frameworks. In particular, will discuss coordinated laboratory experiments and simulations that investigate the swimming and feeding performance of individual choanoflagellates carrying bacterial prey, as well the hydrodynamic performance of colonies of hundreds of these cells. At the macroscale, we will present a closed-loop model that examines the hypothesis that amplified proprioceptive feedback could restore effective locomotion in lampreys with spinal injuries.