Relationship of mechanisms underlying glassy dynamics across biological systems

Determine whether the mechanisms governing glassy dynamics in different biological and bio-inspired systems, including cell cytoplasm, confluent epithelial tissues, bacterial colonies, insect aggregations, and synthetic active colloids, are related or distinct, and identify any unifying principles across these systems.

Background

Experiments over the past two decades have shown glass-like behavior across a wide range of living and synthetic systems, from intracellular cytoplasm to cell monolayers and active colloids. Despite these parallels, the underlying biological and physical ingredients vary substantially among systems.

The authors highlight that this diversity complicates establishing a common mechanistic framework, motivating explicit clarification of whether shared or distinct mechanisms drive the observed glassy dynamics across these platforms.