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Homeostatic Imbalance01:10

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Homeostasis is the maintenance of a stable internal environment within the body, which is crucial for the proper functioning of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. The body has various control mechanisms that work together to regulate various physiological parameters such as temperature, blood pressure, pH balance, and fluid balance, to name a few. These control mechanisms are based on feedback loops that can be either positive or negative.
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What are Cells?01:07

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Cells are the smallest and basic units of life, whether it is a single cell that forms the entire organism, e.g., in a bacterium or trillions of them, e.g., in humans. No matter what organism a cell is a part of, they share specific characteristics.
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A concentration cell is a type of a  voltaic cell constructed by connecting two almost identical half-cells, both based on the same half-reaction and using the same electrode, differing only in the concentration of one redox species. A concentration cell's potential, therefore, is determined only by the concentration difference of the particular redox species.
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Ensemble Force Spectroscopy by Shear Forces
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The homeostatic ensemble for cells.

S S Shishvan1,2, A Vigliotti1,3, V S Deshpande4

  • 1Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, UK.

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology
|July 11, 2018
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Living cells maintain a stable state through homeostatic equilibrium, evading thermodynamic decay. This new statistical mechanics framework explains cell variability as inherent to this equilibrium, not experimental error.

Keywords:
CellCytoskeletonEffective temperatureFluctuationsStatistical mechanics

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Area of Science:

  • Statistical mechanics
  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Cells are complex out-of-equilibrium systems.
  • Cells maintain a homeostatic state over hours to days.
  • Cellular observables show remarkable consistency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Develop a statistical mechanics framework for living cells.
  • Incorporate the homeostatic constraint during the cell cycle.
  • Introduce the concept of a homeostatic ensemble and temperature.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a statistical mechanics framework.
  • Included homeostatic constraints of the cell cycle.
  • Formulated dynamic homeostatic equilibrium.

Main Results:

  • Introduced homeostatic ensemble and temperature.
  • Framework accurately predicts mechanical environment effects on smooth muscle cells.
  • Predicted decrease in cell area, shape, and traction variability with decreasing substrate stiffness.

Conclusions:

  • Cellular variability is inherent to the entropic nature of homeostatic equilibrium.
  • Observed variabilities are not due to experimental errors.
  • The framework allows living cells to evade thermodynamic decay.