Greg Stephens, Biological Physics Theory Unit

Speaker: Greg Stephens, Biological Physics Theory (Stephens) Unit

Title: 
Towards a physics of behavior: If Newton watched the worm not the apple

Abstract: 
The science of the living world is overwhelmingly focused on the microscopic: the dynamics and structure of the molecules, cells and circuits of which every organism is composed. Yet, all of these processes serve greater evolutionary goals: to find food, avoid predators and reproduce. This is the behavioral scale, and despite its importance, our quantitative understanding of behavior is often remarkably primitive. But how do we quantify the emergent dynamics of entire organisms? What principles characterize living movement? I overview research in our unit which addresses these fundamental questions with a modern biophysics approach and model systems ranging from the nematode C. elegans to zebrafish and honeybee collectives. We combine theoretical ideas from statistical physics, information theory and dynamical systems, leverage new technologies such as deep learning, and work in close collaboration with scientists from OIST and around the world to seek unifying principles from quantitative experiments and novel analysis of organisms in natural motion.After the seminar (17:00-17:30), join us for discussion with free pizza and soft drinks!