Membrane elasticity molds aggregates of simple cells

Abstract

At first glance, quite a few tissues in simple animals or in the early development look similar to an assembly of soap bubbles. The undeniable appeal of this correspondence, the seemingly elementary surface-tension Hamiltonian, and the prospect of a mechanical model of biological structures have fueled research in the field for over a century. However, the correspondence is far from perfect and the Hamiltonian of soap-froth-like systems hard to solve. Yet the prospects of a physical interpretation of the form of some cell aggregates are good.