The restless cell : continuum theories of living matter

"Meant for undergraduate- to graduate-level biological physics and quantitative biology students and researchers, this book is a self-contained, quantitative introduction to how classical field theories of matter, such as diffusion theory, elasticity theory and hydrodynamics, have helped physicists understand many facets of material behavior. After introducing readers to these physical insights and quantitative tools, the authors then dig deep into a range of fascinating biological case studies across scales - from how filaments and motors make molecular scale assemblies, to how cells organize to form tissues, to how animals form collectives in herds, flocks, and schools. In sum, the book will provide a quantitative introduction to the physics of elastic and fluid materials and then apply this physics to the fascinating and counterintuitive behaviors of active matter systems and biological materials via a range of examples across scales, from cytoskeletal organization to tissue dynamics to the collective motions of animals"--