[This is the old program from WS 2007/08. The current program and contact information can be found here.]

05 October 2007, 16:00

Atsushi Tero (Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan)
Traffic-adaptive networking by a real amoebae of Physarum [Abstract] 

Toshiyuki Nakagaki (Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan)
Amoebae anticipate periodic events [Abstract] 

12 October 2007, 16:00

Takao Ohta (Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Japan)
Turing patterns in three dimensions [Abstract] 

02 November 2007, 16:00

Karsten Kruse (Theoretische Physik, Universität des Saarlandes)
Active behavior of the cytoskeleton  

Abstract:
Many movements of eukaryotic cells are driven by the cytoskeleton. This cellular structure plays essential roles in various vital processes like cell division, cell locomotion, or the internal organization of subcellular components. It consists of filamentous proteins, notably microtubules and actin filaments, which interact with a host of proteins affecting filament lengths, acting as cross-linkers, or functioning as molecular motors. In living cells, the cytoskeleton is maintained out of thermodynamic equilibrium by the hydrolysis of ATP, which drives, for example, the assembly and disassembly of filaments or the action of motors. These processes lead to the generation of internal stresses and spontaneous flows. In this talk, a hydrodynamic description of cytoskeletal dynamics will be presented. This description is based on symmetries only and applies whenever the systems is sufficiently close to thermodynamic equilibrium. As a first example, it will be applied to the dynamics of active polar films. Finally, selected cellular structures will be discussed in light of the theory.

09 November 2007, 16:00 Haber-Villa

Peter Tass (Institut für Neurowissenschaften und Biophysik, Forschungszentrum Jülich)
Model based development of desynchronizing brain stimulation techniques [Abstract] 

30 November 2007, 16:00

Pablo Kaluza (Fritz-Haber-Institut der MPG)
Evolutionary design of complex functional networks [Abstract] 

14 December 2007, 16:00 Haber-Villa

Hans-Günther Döbereiner (Institut für Biophysik, Universität Bremen)
Dynamic Phase Transitions and Collective Modes in Cell Spreading [Abstract] 

18 January 2008, 16:00

Hiroya Nakao (Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin)
Phase coherence in an ensemble of uncoupled nonlinear oscillators induced by correlated noise [Abstract] 

08 February 2008, 16:00

Stefan Luther (Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, Göttingen)
Noninvasive adaptive multisite pacing of the heart [Abstract] 

22 February 2008, 16:00

Wolffram Schröer (Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Universität Bremen)
Criticality and corresponding states in ionic systems [Abstract]