A Geometric Theory of Biological Motility

摘要

Here I will discuss how cells and proteins use undirected chemical energy to move and create order, and how thermal noise can facilitate this process. The resulting theory, based on the idea of motion at low Reynolds number describes the velocity induced by shape change or modulation of a potential in terms of the area enclosed by a parametric plot of either two external parameters, or an external parameter and an internal relaxing variable. The velocity is strictly proportional to this area, and so the theory is both linear, and geometric.