Signatures of Nonequilibrium Fluctuations in Life

For more details, visit the website: http://indico.ictp.it/event/9091/

Location: 

Internation Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Itlay

Organizers:

Jordan Horowitz, University of Michigan, U.S.A

Edgar Roldan, ICTP, Italy

Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan, IISC Bangalore, India

Saar Rahav, Technion, Israel

Overview: 

Life is a nonequilibrium phenomenon, requiring the constant consumption of energy to circumvent the pernicious effects of fluctuations. This workshop will focus on efforts from physics and biology to address fluctuations in living systems. Recent advances in experimental techniques and in the theory of nonequilibrium processes offer new opportunities for the study of fluctuations in biological systems. What is the biological relevance of fundamental results such as the fluctuation theorem and the thermodynamic uncertainty relation? What are the energetic costs of key processes needed to sustain life at the cellular level? What statistical features are unique in biological systems? How can we harvest energy efficiently from living matter? The workshop aims at gathering active scientists (experimentalists and theorists) from different domains in physics and biology who have made significant contributions to address fluctuations in living systems. The conference will provide a unique framework for researchers from developing countries to establish a scientific dialogue with their counterparts from around the world  performing cutting-edge research in physics and biology. The overall objective of the workshop is to discuss existing efforts on understanding nonequilibrium fluctuations using biological and physical methods, but more importantly, to identify future questions in this domain and the collaborations that will help answer them.