An inspiring morning on the mathematics of Turing-like patterns in biological systems at the conference on „Patterning principles in biophysics“ at beautiful Beg Rohu. Great talks by Robert Endres and @physicsoflifelmu.bsky.social biopatterning.sciencesconf.org

Three is more, and different. 2-component mass-conserving reaction-diffusion: coarsens forever. 3-component: maps onto a new active field theory (Active Model B−), and coarsening arrests into dots, stripes, foams. arxiv.org/abs/2605.15903 #activematter #patternformation #softmatter

Two physically very different systems. The same patterns in space. A coincidence? No — a duality. New paper with my PhD student Daniel Zhou: arxiv.org/abs/2605.15158 #ActiveMatter #SoftMatter #PatternFormation

🏛️ 200 Years of LMU in Munich 🎓 Founded in 1472, relocated from Landshut to Munich in 1826 — today LMU celebrates 200 years in Munich and inaugurates Prof. Dr. Matthias H. Tschöp as President.

Mehran Kardar’s Sommerfeld Lectures at LMU Munich are now available online. Watch the full series here: lnkd.in/dnuF2Rg6 (Click on a talk to access the video link.) Many thanks again to Mehran for an outstanding set of lectures, and to everyone who joined us in Munich.

Applications open: Biopatterning—Patterning principles in biophysics (school). Beg Rohu, Quiberon (Brittany, FR), 25–29 May 2026. For PhD students/postdocs/ECR. Deadline: 15 Mar 2026. Fee 300€ incl lodging+meals. biopatterning.sciencesconf.org/?lang=en Please RT/share!

Thrilled to attend the meeting—looking forward to the talks and discussions with colleagues. berkeleystatmech.org/index.html

Next week at LMU Munich: the 32nd Arnold Sommerfeld Lecture Series with Mehran Kardar (MIT)—from KPZ and nonequilibrium physics to active matter, disorder, and soft matter. Programme: www.theorie.physik.uni-muenchen.de/activities/l...

Still time to apply until January, 19th!

Excited to announce that our Econophysiology workshop has been accepted at the BIRS in 2027 🇨🇦 Co-organized with Hidde de Jong, Edda Klipp, & Matt Scott, we will bring economists, biologists, and physicists together to build a shared conceptual language across disciplines. Stay tuned! www.birs.ca

Join us for #MECO51 (51st Middle European Cooperation in Statistical Physics), 18–22 May 2026 in Pont-à-Mousson, France (Abbaye des Prémontrés). Invited & contributed talks, posters & best-poster prize. meco51.sciencesconf.org

New review out: "Pattern Formation Beyond Turing: Physical Principles of Mass-Conserving Reaction–Diffusion Systems". A unifying framework for protein pattern formation, from Min oscillations to Turing foams. arxiv.org/abs/2512.12558

🚀 Transfer, der Wirkung zeigt: Die LMU-Ausgründung #Amplifold sichert sich 5 Mio. Euro Seed-Finanzierung, um ultrasensitive Schnelltests auf Basis von #DNA-Origami-Nanotechnologie auf den Markt zu bringen.

📢 New extended abstract submission deadline: 6 January 2026! Outstanding speaker list, plus many slots for short talks by students, postdocs, and junior PIs. Join us in March in Barcelona! events.ibecbarcelona.eu/embl-ibec-co...

How can we ensure that #SyntheticCell/ #SynCell research is conducted responsibly? The EVOLF research programme is developing guidelines for the responsible creation and control of synthetic cells. Discover how EVOLF intends to shape the future of this research: edu.nl/8yxax #Bioethics

Arrived in Stellenbosch and ready for a week of deep discussions on the physics of living systems with colleagues and friends. www.greenbuildingafrica.co.za/wp-content/u...

Very happy to share our 'Evoscape' paper, now published in PNAS ! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

🧪⚛️ “Turing foams” in the Min system—now seen in experiment. Non-equilibrium protein currents create foam-like interfaces obeying Plateau laws and even splitting like tiny dividing cells. Stunning video from Petra Schwille’s lab; the whole story is here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🧪⚛️ Surface tension—driven by non-equilibrium currents not forces—in pattern formation leads to the same type of interface laws as in liquid foams: Plateau laws, von Neumann evolution; and a new emergent phenomenon: domain splitting akin to cell division. nature.com/articles/s4156…

Liquid gears and conveyor belts: We show how the interplay between phase-separation and chemotactic interactions gives rise to persistent capillary waves that drive the formation of active “gears” and “conveyor belts”. link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...

🧪 Geometry beats chemistry: we show that self-assembly can be controlled by tuning large-scale geometric parameters rather than molecular binding energies. PNAS: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... Video summary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FS3... #SelfAssembly #Biophysics #PhysicsOfLife

Was great fun to give the physics colloquium at the University of Padova. indico.dfa.unipd.it/event/1570/

📌 Join us for the next klogW seminar on October 21st at 12PM EST (register below) by Erwin Frey @physicsoflifelmu.bsky.social on "Emergence and Self-organization in Biological Systems". Registration link: apsphysics.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

WORK! I currently have 5 (!) open positions for postdocs/PhD students in our CDlab for projects: - Nanopore protein sequencing - Archaeal CDV cell division - Microfluidics for synthetic cells - Nuclear Pore Complex - Origami mimics of peroxisomes Please apply! ceesdekkerlab.nl/come-join-us/ RT=👍

do not think twice. Apply. 👇🏼

Interested in learning about #intelligent #active #matter? We have three open spots for presenting a poster at an international conference close to Munich. Please send an email to [email protected] before Friday noon (25.7) iam.physik.lmu.de

📣Book alert📣 Finally out with Cambridge University Press: the book by Udo Seifert on "Stochastic thermodynamics". It comprehensively covers many topics, from an introduction to statistical physics to many special subjects such as reaction networks and active particles. Highly recommended 👍👍👍

We present a theory explaining how the thymic medulla acquires its morphology. Our model shows that key interactions—thymocyte chemotaxis, selection, and signaling to epithelial cells—are sufficient to generate the observed spatial organization. | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

One of the best spots in Austria!

It was a fantastic visit in Heidelberg!

#LMUMunich expands its network of international collaborations with top-class universities.🤝🌐 The new partnership with #StellenboschUniversity offers LMU faculty and researchers excellent joint research opportunities and new scientific perspectives on the African continent. 🌍 Find out more here:

💧🌀 Active matter meets interface physics! We show how conserved active emulsions form traveling interfacial waves and self-propelling liquid gears, powered by non-reciprocal chemical interactions. 🎥 Gears & belts in motion👇 📄 arxiv.org/abs/2505.20028 #ActiveMatter #PhaseSeparation #PatternFormation

Just out in Nature Physics: Research Briefing (with Suckjoon Jun) on how Min protein oscillations in E. coli remain robust. The secret? A conformational switch that buffers change, and a fresh look at an old system through a physicist’s lens. 📘 www.nature.com/articles/s41... #patternformation

Research Briefing article with Erwin Frey (@physicsoflifelmu.bsky.social) is also out in Nature Physics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The #ClustersOfExcellence have been selected: today, the Excellence Commission approved 70 projects for funding. 45 clusters will continue and 25 will be newly established. Funding starts on 1 Jan 2026 for 7 years, with €539 million per year. The full list: www.dfg.de/resource/blo... 1/3

My lecture “Nonequilibrium Field Theories and Stochastic Dynamics” is now on YouTube! Here a short film on my teaching philosophy. Watch lectures here: www.youtube.com/@PhysicsOfLi... #Physics #Biophysics #StochasticDynamics #NonequilibriumPhysics #SoftMatter #TheoreticalPhysics #ScienceEducation

Wanted to learn more on "Nonequlibrium Field Theories and Stochastic Dynamics". Now you can from the expert himself! @physicsoflifelmu.bsky.social. Prof Erwin Frey's lecture series is now available! www.youtube.com/@physicsofli...

How do bacteria keep their internal patterns stable despite fluctuating protein concentrations? A team led by #LMU biophysicist Erwin Frey @physicsoflifelmu.bsky.social & @junlab.bsky.social found that MinE proteins act as a buffer by switching between active and latent states.

New in Nature Physics! In a great collaboration with @junlab.bsky.social and my students Henrik Weyer & @lwuerthner.bsky.social, we show how Min proteins in E. coli self-organize into robust, efficient patterns ensuring accurate cell division across conditions. 📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our paper on the E. coli Min system in vivo with @physicsoflifelmu.bsky.social & Judy Kim (UCSD) has been published in Nature Physics today. Tight integration of experiment and theory, and physiology and biophysics. Incredible perseverance of our young students. rdcu.be/ekIpO

In an open letter of support to the President of @harvard.edu, Max Planck President Patrick Cramer @patrick-cramer.maxplanck.de has expressed his full support of the University in its stance against demands by the Trump administration to change its policies in order to retain federal funding.

Congratulations to Mehran Kardar of @MIT and Yoshiki Kuramoto of @kyotou_news on receiving the @IUPAP_physics Boltzmann Medal — the highest honor in #StatisticalPhysics 🏅 🔗 go.aps.org/4jCqbsR

Thrilled to be featured in The New York Times! @nytimes.com Fantastic piece by @jack-tamisiea.bsky.social on our discovery of the role of physical forces in evolution! With insightful comments from @wcratcliff.bsky.social!

Opportunity to work with Hannes Mutschler and Dieter Braun on the BubbleLife project The project aims to find the conditions on the young Earth that enabled molecules to form the precursors of organic life. For more info, we recently wrote an article on this project: syntheticcell.eu/erc-synergy-...

Excited to share our new paper. We show how membrane-mediated interactions stabilize protein patterns, halting coarsening. Check it out: journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...

RNA origami builds artificial cytoskeletons! A new paper in Nature Nanotech shows how folded RNA filaments can act as structural scaffolds—advancing bottom-up synthetic cells without proteins. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

How does geometry shape chemical transport? Lobato-Dauzier et al. show that confinement controls how active flows enhance RD front propagation—beyond FKPP. link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/.... For a perspective on guiding cues in pattern formation see Burkart et al. in Nat Phys Rev doi.org/10.1038/s422...

Very much looking forward to the conference on "Emerging Trends in Physics of the Cell", dedicated to honoring the legacy of Erich Sackmann. 🌍 Center for Functional Protein Assemblies,TUM, Garching, Germany ⏰ Date: 15-18 October 2025 Preregistration now open! www.cpa.tum.de/cpa/conferen...

If you want to understand how cells function, you have to work out what proteins interact with — and where https://go.nature.com/4hYLaol

Looking for a reading snack? Our work is featured as a @NaturePhysics research briefing: www.nature.com/articles/s41...