Dear colleagues,

Welcome to our network! We are pleased to announce our opening online seminar of the Physics of Life South American Network (PoLSAN), to be delivered by Prof. William Bialek (Princeton University, USA) on June 12 at 2:30 PM (Brazil time, UTC-3). Full details are available below and on our website: ictp-saifr.org/polsan

Speaker: William Bialek (Princeton University, USA)
Date & Time: June 12, 2:30 PM (Brazil time, UTC-3)

Location: Online (Zoom)
Meeting ID: 874 9707 2741
Password: polsan

Title: Scale invariance in the physics of life
Abstract: Organisms come in a wide range of sizes and behaviors span a wide range of time scales. There are classical scaling relations, such as the power-law dependence of metabolism on body mass, but it is not clear if these are rules of thumb or more exact statements. In many areas of physics, scale invariance was the clue pointing to deep theoretical ideas. I will explore three examples in the physics of biological systems—patterns of gene expression in the early fly embryo, dynamics in a network of 1000+ neurons, and the walking behavior of flies—where scaling relations are precise in the second decimal place. Most of the discussion will be phenomenological, in the hope of generating discussion.

Please share this announcement widely. We look forward to your participation in helping strengthen our growing community!

Best wishes,
PoLSAN Chairs