Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending

The living membranes are flexible due to their fluid mosaic nature; however, their bending into different shapes is an active process regulated by specific lipids and proteins. The membrane bending can be transient as seen in vesicles or stable for a long time as in microvilli. Cells regulate the size, location, and duration of the membrane curvature.
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...

Cell Motility through Blebbing

Cell Motility through Blebbing

Blebs are a type of membrane protrusion formed by the internal hydrostatic pressure of the cytoplasm. Blebs are observed in several cell types, including fibroblasts, immune cells, and single-celled organisms like the amoeba. The primary function of blebs is cell locomotion and apoptosis, but they are also found during necrosis and cell division. The life cycle of a bleb comprises an initiation phase followed by the expansion and retraction phases.
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...

Hydrostatic Pressure Force on a Curved Surface

Hydrostatic Pressure Force on a Curved Surface

Hydrostatic pressure on curved surfaces is a fundamental concept in fluid mechanics with broad applications in the civil engineering field. When fluid is in contact with a curved surface, as in a reservoir, dam, or storage tank, it exerts pressure that varies in magnitude and direction along the curved surface. To assess the total hydrostatic force exerted by the fluid on a curved structure, engineers typically isolate the fluid volume adjacent to the surface and analyze the forces acting on...

Bending of Curved Members - Strain Analysis

Bending of Curved Members - Strain Analysis

The mechanics of deformation in curved members, such as beams or arches, under bending moments, involve complex responses. When such a member, symmetric about the y-axis and shaped like a segment of a circle centered at point C, is subjected to equal and opposite forces, its curvature and surface lengths change significantly. This alteration results in the shift of the curvature's center from C to C', indicating a tighter curve.
The important part of bending analysis for such a member...

Mechanism of Ciliary Motion

Mechanism of Ciliary Motion

The ciliary structures were first seen in 1647 by Antonie Leeuwenhoek while observing the protozoans. In lower organisms, these appendages are responsible for cell movement, while in higher organisms, these appendages help in the movement of the extracellular fluids within the body cavities.
The cilia are made up of microtubules in a 9+2 arrangement, with nine microtubule doublet ring bundles, surrounding a pair of central singlet microtubule bundles. The doublet microtubule bundles are...

Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation

Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation

Cells migrating in response to external stimuli form lamellipodia, which are thin membrane protrusions supported by a mesh of linked, branched, or unbranched actin filaments. These actin filaments interact with myosin motor proteins, creating the dynamic actomyosin complex within the cytoskeleton. Contractility, or the ability to generate contractile stress, is inherent to the actomyosin complex. It helps cells detect the stiffness of the surrounding ECM and exert contractile force for...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Stabilizing in-transition phases of superlattices through shape control of silver nanocrystals.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same author

Exploring entropy landscapes using hard particle Monte Carlo metadynamics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Intermetallic nanoassemblies potentiate systemic STING activation.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same author

Quantifying local point-group-symmetry order in complex particle systems.

The Journal of chemical physics·2026

Same author

Engineering low-symmetry colloidal crystals with optical anisotropies.

Science advances·2026

Same author

Using particle shape to control defects in colloidal crystals on spherical interfaces.

Soft matter·2026

Same journal

Nanopore sequencing with proteins: synchronization and dischronization of molecular dynamics simulations with laboratory and industrial developments.

Soft matter·2026

Same journal

Catanionics from biosurfactants and regular surfactants: miscibility and structure.

Soft matter·2026

Same journal

Adhesives with a thickness smaller than the fractocohesive length enhance adhesion.

Soft matter·2026

Same journal

Non-equilibrium phase transitions in hybrid Voronoi models of cell colonies.

Soft matter·2026

Same journal

Effects of methoxy substituents on self-assembly and gelation performance of benzamide-based organogelators.

Soft matter·2026

Same journal

Rheology of <i>Escherichia coli</i> suspensions with various bacterial morphologies and motion characteristics.

Soft matter·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates

Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates

Published on: January 5, 2022

Curvature-induced microswarming.

Isaac R Bruss¹, Sharon C Glotzer

¹Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. sglotzer@umich.edu.

|July 8, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Gaussian curvature on surfaces influences active matter. High curvature forces self-propelled particles into symmetry-breaking microswarms, a novel flocking behavior driven by geometry, not alignment rules.

More Related Videos

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers

Published on: May 28, 2007

Preparation, Imaging, and Quantification of Bacterial Surface Motility Assays

Preparation, Imaging, and Quantification of Bacterial Surface Motility Assays

Published on: April 7, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates

Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates

Published on: January 5, 2022

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers

Published on: May 28, 2007

Preparation, Imaging, and Quantification of Bacterial Surface Motility Assays

Preparation, Imaging, and Quantification of Bacterial Surface Motility Assays

Published on: April 7, 2015

Area of Science:

Physics
Applied Mathematics
Materials Science

Background:

Gaussian curvature intrinsically affects geometric properties of surfaces.
Active matter systems, like self-propelled particles, exhibit complex emergent behaviors.
Understanding particle behavior on curved surfaces is crucial for designing novel materials and devices.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of Gaussian curvature on the collective behavior of active matter.
To explore the formation and characteristics of microswarms on curved surfaces.
To determine if curvature-induced effects differ from traditional alignment rules in active matter.

Main Methods:

Simulations of self-propelled particles confined to a spherical surface.
Analysis of particle trajectories and clustering patterns under varying curvature.
Mathematical proof to distinguish curvature-driven flocking from other mechanisms.

Main Results:

High Gaussian curvature induces self-propelled particles to form symmetry-breaking microswarms.
This microswarm flocking is a direct consequence of surface geometry, independent of alignment rules or collision torques.
Curvature can enhance or hinder particle clustering by altering boundary shapes and inducing microswarming.

Conclusions:

Geometric properties of surfaces, specifically Gaussian curvature, are powerful tools for controlling active matter behavior.
Novel microswarming phenomena emerge solely from surface geometry.
This work provides a pathway for engineering active matter systems by designing environmental geometry.