Dr. Fred Mackintosh

VU University, Amsterdam

Elasticity on the Edge of Stability: Soft Matter Inspired by the Cell

The mechanical properties of cells are largely determined by the cytoskeleton, a network of filamentous proteins. Inspired by such networks, we describe recent theory and experiments on simplified fiber networks. We show that these exhibit a unique state of highly responsive matter near the isostatic point first studied by Maxwell. Here, such networks constitute a marginal state of matter with exceptional properties, including zero-temperature critical behavior and anomalous entropic elasticity.