Research Goal
We are an interdisciplinary group (with expertise in theoretical biophysics, statistical physics, organic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, computer simulation, theoretical biology, philosophy of science) researching the origin of biological organisation, its metabolic nature and the role of membrane compartments and organic interfaces in that organisation.
Publications
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Cross-feeding percolation phase transitions of intercellular metabolic networks
Sci Adv. 2025 Sep 5;11(36):eadv8216. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adv8216. Epub 2025 Sep 3. PMID: 40901938; PMCID: PMC12407054. -
Modelling the prebiotic origins of regulation and agency in evolving protocell ecologies
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2025 Oct 2;380(1936):20240287. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2024.0287. Epub 2025 Oct 2. PMID: 41035323; PMCID: PMC12489503. -
Metabolic coordination and phase transitions in spatially distributed multi-cellular systems
Commun Phys 8, 205 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02133-x -
On the Evolutionary Development of Biological Organization from Complex Prebiotic Chemistry
Book Chapter. In: Mossio, M. (eds) Organization in Biology. History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, vol 33. Springer, Cham. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-38968-9_9 -
Emergence of collective self-oscillations in minimal lattice models with feedback
Phys. Rev. E 108, 044204. Doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.108.044204 -
Collectively autocatalytic sets
Cell Reports Physical Science. 2023. Volume 4, Issue 10. 101594. Doi:10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101594. -
The protometabolic nature of prebiotic chemistry
Review. Chem Soc Rev. (2023) Oct 30;52(21):7359-7388. doi: 10.1039/d3cs00594a. -
Collective catalysis under spatial constraints: Phase separation and size-scaling effects on mass action kinetics
Phys. Rev. E 108, 044410. Doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.108.044410 -
Statistical mechanics of biomolecular condensates via cavity methods
iScience, Volume 26, Issue 4, 2023, 106300, ISSN 2589-0042. doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.106300. -
Statistical modeling of adaptive neural networks explains co-existence of avalanches and oscillations in resting human brain
Nat Comput Sci (2023). doi.org/10.1038/s43588-023-00410-9 -
Relationship between fitness and heterogeneity in exponentially growing microbial populations
Biophysical Journal (2022), doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2022.04.012 -
Probing Single-Cell Fermentation Fluxes and Exchange Networks via pH-Sensing Hybrid Nanofibers
ACS Nano 2022, doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c06114 -
Epidemic oscillations induced by social network control
J. Stat. Mech. (2022) 013404, doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/ac4804 -
Minimal metabolism: a key concept to investigate the origins and nature of biological systems.
BioEssays, 43, e2100103, (2021) doi: 10.1002/bies.202100103 -
Definitions of life as epistemic tools that reflect and foster the advance of biological knowledge
Synthese. (2020) doi: 10.1007/s11229-020-02736-7. (2020) -
Boundary versus enabling conditions for the origins of life: Comment on \
Phys Life Rev. 34-35:96-98. (2020) doi: 10.1016/j.plrev.2020.06.001 (2020) -
The Construction of Biological ‘Inter-Identity’ as the Outcome of a Complex Process of Protocell Development in Prebiotic Evolution
Front Physiol. 11:530 (2020). doi: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00530 (2020) -
Oscillations in feedback-driven systems: Thermodynamics and noise
PHYSICAL REVIEW E 100 (6), 062123 (2019) doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.100.062123. (2019) -
Feedback-induced self-oscillations in large interacting systems subjected to phase transitions
Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 52(4), 045002 (2019) DOI: 10.1088/1751-8121/aaf2dd -
A plea for hypothesis-driven research in prebiotic systems chemistry
Chem 5 (8), 1920-1922 (2019) -
Statistical mechanics for metabolic networks during steady state growth
Nature communications, 9(1), 1-9 (2018) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05417-9 -
Soft and dispersed interface-rich aqueous systems that promote and guide chemical reactions
Nature Reviews Chemistry 2, 306–327. doi: 10.1038/s41570-018-0042-6 (2018) -
Core-excited microsecond isomer in 207Pb
Physical Review C. American Physical Society (APS). 2025 Aug 1. doi: 10.1103/6l8p-cblc