Mathematics

Robust multicellular structures and processes are crucial for the construction and function of higher organisms. In these systems large numbers (thousands to millions) of cells communicate through short and long-ranged interactions in order to achieve large-scale coherence. In this talk I will present a general framework for describing these systems. The framework is similar in spirit to many-body theory, which has been so successful in understanding coherent structures in physical systems. The framework provides useful analytical insights into the behavior of multi-cellular systems, and also allows the construction of optimized off-lattice computer algorithms. I will illustrate the latter in the context of early stages of chick embryogenesis, in particular the dynamics of primitive streak formation.