@phdthesis{Dunlop2015,
  author    = {Dunlop, John William Chapman},
  title     = {The physics of shape changes in biology},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-96554},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {vii, 202},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Biological materials, in addition to having remarkable physical properties, can also change shape and volume. These shape and volume changes allow organisms to form new tissue during growth and morphogenesis, as well as to repair and remodel old tissues. In addition shape or volume changes in an existing tissue can lead to useful motion or force generation (actuation) that may even still function in the dead organism, such as in the well known example of the hygroscopic opening or closing behaviour of the pine cone. Both growth and actuation of tissues are mediated, in addition to biochemical factors, by the physical constraints of the surrounding environment and the architecture of the underlying tissue. This habilitation thesis describes biophysical studies carried out over the past years on growth and swelling mediated shape changes in biological systems. These studies use a combination of theoretical and experimental tools to attempt to elucidate the physical mechanisms governing geometry controlled tissue growth and geometry constrained tissue swelling. It is hoped that in addition to helping understand fundamental processes of growth and morphogenesis, ideas stemming from such studies can also be used to design new materials for medicine and robotics.},
  language  = {en}
}