What do flocks of birds and bacterial cells have in common? More than you might think!

Their movements, for one. Both can display coordinated, organised patterns much bigger than a single bird of bacteria. But what drives these patterns?

To understand the movement of a wide variety of living systems – from the growth of bacterial colonies and the movement of bird flocks to cell division – scientists can draw on the physical principles of active matter.

How does order emerge from chaos in living systems? This is the central question explored by our colleague doc. dr. Jan Rozman, who recently appeared as a guest on Podobe znanja, a regular weekly programme on Radio Slovenia, Slovenia’s national public radio broadcaster.

The programme features conversations with Slovenian scientists, offering insights into the latest developments across a wide range of scientific fields, from climate change and biomolecular processes to future technologies and complex social dynamics.

🎧 Tune in to hear our colleague discuss how physics can help us understand the fascinating patterns of movement in living systems.

Listen to the episode (in Slovenian):

Episode