Biomimetics

The word "biomimicry" comes from the ancient Greek: bios (bios), life, and mimesis, imitation.

This term refers to the study of extra- and intracellular biological phenomena using in vitro experimental techniques designed to reproduce, i.e. "imitate", qualitatively and quantitatively the aspects characterizing these phenomena.

The biomimetic method approaches biological complexity "by subtraction": by re-assembling minimal systems (with a small number of parameters) under highly controlled conditions using abottom-up approach; by identifying essential quantities; and by controlling system parameters.

This course is not intended to be an exhaustive, canonized presentation of biomimicry, but rather to give students a broad perspective of this continually developing field of research. This pedagogical objective will be pursued through the reasoned reading of research articles and the presentation of some of the cutting-edge biomimetic techniques by the researchers who use them.

• To give students a broad perspective of the most widely used biomimetic techniques and topics of investigation in the study of extra- and intracellular processes (see syllabus).
• Studies of the founding articles of modern biomimetic approaches.
• Develop skills in reading and analyzing scientific articles in the biophysical field, with particular emphasis on biomimetics. Encourage good practice in the study of scientific bibliography.

• Biological Physics

Recommended prerequisites :

• Fluid mechanics/hydrodynamics
• Statistical Physics
• Surfaces, Interfaces, Colloids

Microscopies and Spectroscopies

This course focuses on the study of scientific literature and the presentation, in the form of seminars, of certain aspects of biomimetic research. For this reason, the program may vary from year to year. Some of the topics already covered in the past are:

• Dynamics, assembly and self-organization of microtubules and motors in vitro.
• Artificial Listeria : actin-based motility dynamics.
• Formation of membrane nanotube networks by the action of motor proteins on an underlying microtubule network.
• Membrane nanotubes and protein-membrane interaction.
• Cytoskeletal mechanics/cell motility: cilia and flagella.
• Developmental biology and cell mechanics.
• Biomimetic tissue flows.