
PHYSICS OF GROWING SYSTEMS
& PLANT BEHAVIOUR


WHAT WE'RE INTO
DYNAMICS OF PLANT BEHAVIOUR Organisms thrive in a harsh and fluctuating environment thanks to a variety of fundamental processes such as decision-making, adaptation, learning and collective behavior. These processes are based on the ability to compare environmental stimuli, either in time via memory, or in space by collectively sharing sensory information between organisms. Our lab aims to provide a mechanistic understanding of these phenomena, suggesting plant responses as a model system. We adopt a statistical physics approach, inferring underlying microscopic processes from observed macroscopic responses, and carry out experiments in house.
PHYSICS OF GROWING SYSTEMS A variety of biological systems are not motile, but sessile in nature, relying on movement resulting from continuous growth in the direction of environmental stimuli. For example, in their search for nutrients, plant roots and fungal hyphae change their morphology by growing differentially, and neuronal axons grow towards a chemical signal. The irreversible nature of growth, together with the inherent coupling between space and time, calls for a new physical description.

OUR TOOLBOX
EXPERIMENTS
We observe complex macroscopic responses of plants to diverse stimuli
STATISTICAL PHYSICS
We infer microscopic stochastic processes from macroscopic responses
MATHEMATICAL MODELING
We use minimal modeling and numerical simulations to study observations
RESEARCH AT A GLANCE
"Ask not what physics can do for biology - ask what biology can do for physics" // Ulam

ART >< SCIENCE
IMPOSSIBLE OBJECT
Art work in collaboration with artist Liat Segal
Part of the "Art Mission" by Rakia and the Ramon Foundation. On April 3rd 2022 Israeli astronaut Eitan Stibbe will join Ax-1, a planned SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station (ISS)- the first civilian mission to the ISS.
‘Impossible Object’ is a sculpture made of water. The liquid’s three-dimensional form does not get its shape from any vessel and as such cannot exist on earth, but only in space in the absence of gravity. The sculpture is built as a composition of brass rods and tubes, through which water flows. With no gravitation to direct the water downwards, the water adheres to the sculpture’s metal structure, forming a dynamic three-dimensional liquid composition, shaped by the water’s surface tension and its tendency to cling to the structure due to adhesion forces. The sculpture’s composition of rods and tubes resembles a wavy staircase that has no directionality. The work questions shape and form. In the absence of gravitation, what is the shape of a piece of sea or a handful of a wave? At times when space tourism becomes tangible rather than mostly technological and scientific, it is important to reflect on the place of culture and arts in our lives. ‘Impossible Object’ is a research-based artwork, where micro-gravity physics is the medium.



TROPISM
Art installation in collaboration with artist Liat Segal
Part of the Exhibition "Plan(e)t" @ Genia Schreiber Tel Aviv University Art Gallery | January 2020 - Jan 2022
Curators: Dr. Tamar Mayer and Dr. Sefy Hendler
A field of robotic plants is positioned at the gallery space. Inspired by natural plant behavior, the large-scale shoots slowly move in response to the changing light. Tropism, plants’ motion in response to stimuli, is expressed by the carbon-fiber mechanical shoots as they follow the artificial magenta sunrises and sunsets.

FUNDING





FIND US
The lab is opening up this fall, looking for curious and enthusiastic students!
Britannia Building, Rooms 516+517
School of Plant Science and Food Security
Tel Aviv, Israel
email: jazz at tauex.tau.ac.il
office phone: +972-3-6409846
lab phone: +972-3-6409845
twitter: @MerozLab
solo chi non mangia non fa briciole