2018/01/24 by S. F. Schoeller, Simon F. Schoeller, Eric E. Keaveny +1 · 56 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Biomimetic flight and propulsion mechanisms #Collective behavior #Dynamics (music) #Flagellum #Micro and Nano Robotics #Pickering emulsions and particle stabilization #Range (aeronautics) #Sperm #Suspension (topology) #msc:76Z10 #physics.flu-dyn #q-bio.CB
paper · pdf · doi:10.1098/rsif.2017.0834
published in Journal of The Royal Society Interface 15(140), 20170834 (Royal Society)
arxiv created 2018/01/24 · openalex created_date 2018/02/02 · openalex publication_date 2018/03/01 · arxiv updated 2018/06/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Swimming cells and microorganisms are as diverse in their collective dynamics as they are in their individual shapes and propulsion mechanisms. Even for sperm cells, which have a stereotyped shape consisting of a cell body connected to a flexible flagellum, a wide range of collective dynamics is observed spanning from the formation of tightly packed groups to the display of larger-scale, turbulence-like motion. Using a detailed mathematical model that resolves flagellum dynamics, we perform simulations of sperm suspensions containing up to 1000 cells and explore the connection between individual and collective dynamics. We find that depending on the level of variation in individual dynamics from one swimmer to another, the sperm exhibit either a strong tendency to aggregate, or the suspension exhibits large-scale swirling. Hydrodynamic interactions govern the formation and evolution of both states. In addition, a quantitative analysis of the states reveals that the flows generated at the time scale of flagellum undulations contribute significantly to the overall energy in the surrounding fluid, highlighting the importance of resolving these flows.