Communications of the ACM
Computer Model Describes the 'Architecture of Life'
A new holistic multiscale modeling technique developed by researchers at Harvard University's Wyss Institute can demonstrate the application of tensegrity principles across various levels of size and structural complexity within living cells.
Credit: Wyss Institute/Harvard University
Researchers at Harvard University's Wyss Institute say they have used a new holistic multiscale modeling technique to demonstrate the application of tensegrity ("tensional integrity") principles across various levels of size and structural complexity within living cells.
Tensegrity principles are used in nature to stabilize the shapes of living cells and determine their response to mechanical forces. The modeling method considers each model as a series of mathematical operations that can dynamically change in response to different inputs, enabling data from different size scales and formats to be combined within a single multiscale model built from the bottom-up and top-down concurrently.
"This is the first study, to our knowledge, that demonstrates the mechanical continuity, strain transfer, and conformational changes that result from chemical energy release from the atomic scale up through the whole-cell level, as well as how tensegrity guides those changes to drive cellular movement," says Harvard professor Donald Ingber.
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