Mr. Sami Al-Izzi, 28 Jan 2019

Speaker: Mr. Al-Izzi

Title: Hydro-osmotic Instabilities in Active Membrane Tubes

Abstract:

We study a membrane tube with unidirectional ion pumps driving an osmotic pressure difference [1]. A pressure-driven peristaltic instability is identified, qualitatively distinct from similar tension-driven Rayleigh-type instabilities on membrane tubes. We discuss how this instability could be related to the function and biogenesis of membrane bound organelles, in particular, the contractile vacuole complex an organelle found in many single celled organisms responsible for osmoregulation. The unusually long natural wavelength of this instability is in agreement with that observed in cells.

[1] S. C. Al-Izzi, G. Rowlands, P. Sens, and M. S. Turner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 138102 (2018)

Place:  A4-115

Time:   13:00-14:30 (28th, Jan 2019)