Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2025

The Mechanics of Poro-Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
Published on: March 10, 2023
Training allostery-inspired mechanical response in disordered elastic networks
1Department of Physics and The James Franck and Enrico Fermi Institutes, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. savannah.gowen@mat.ethz.ch.
Abstract:
Disordered elastic networks are a model material system in which it is possible to achieve tunable and trainable functions. This work investigates the modification of local mechanical properties in disordered networks inspired by allosteric interactions in proteins: applying strain locally to a set of source nodes triggers a strain response at a distant set of target nodes. This is demonstrated first by using directed aging to modify the existing mechanical coupling between pairs of distant source and target nodes, and later as a means for inducing coupling between formerly isolated source-target pairs. The experimental results are compared with those predicted by simulations.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cell-matrix's Response to Mechanical Forces
Anchoring junctions mechanically attach a cell to the...
Stability of structures
Mechanical Systems
Tension Response at Adherens Junctions
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
The α-catenin of adherens junctions is an allosteric protein with three VH (vinculin...
Members Made of Elastoplastic Material
As the bending moment...
Relation between Poisson's ratio, Modulus of Elasticity and Modulus of Rigidity

