PoL: Physics of life

© Thorsten Eckert

Prof. Otger Campàs, Speaker of PoL

"Physics and Biology have made unprecedented discoveries to expand our understanding of the natural world. Yet, a profound challenge remains: understanding what brings matter to life. At PoL, we seek to identify the physical principles that govern living matter."

© PoL

Our vision

At PoL, scientists bring physics to life, transforming our understanding of biology. PoL combines physics, biology and computational sciences to answer the question: What brings matter to life?

© TUD

 Identifying the physical principles that govern life remains one of the most significant scientific challenges of our time. How do the laws of physics influence our DNA, why do embryos develop so robustly, and what are the equations for life? Scientists at the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL) at TU Dresden are finding answers to these questions, by combining experiments, theory, and simulations.

Research at PoL focuses on fundamental questions in cell and developmental biology for which physics insights can lead to conceptual breakthroughs. Through a unique environment in which international and interdisciplinary scientists work together, PoL strives towards one common goal: to understand what brings matter to life. Funded by the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), PoL is a cooperation between scientists at TU Dresden and research institutions in the DRESDEN-concept network.

During the second funding phase, a key focus for PoL will be to connect physics principles to two signature features of living systems, function and robustness, at molecular, cell, and tissue scales. To this end, PoL scientists will investigate the emergence of robust functional structures through flows of matter, energy, and information. PoL researchers will also develop new measurement techniques to physically characterize intact living systems, and employ computational and artificial intelligence approaches to learn more from complex, high-dimensional datasets. This will transform our understanding of cell and developmental biology and unravel new paradigms for understanding the physical basis of life.

Key Facts

• 13 new professors and group leaders during the first funding period
• over 1400 publications by the entire PoL network
• Employees from 27 different nations
• 10 comic strips about biophysics concepts
• 2 museum exhibitions in Dresden
• A taught ‘Physics of Life’ MSc programme at the CMCB

Further information: https: //physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/

Further exciting insights

The university produced a film titled "Bright Minds. Excellent Research“, which provides insight into how passionate researchers at TUD are working to find solutions to the great global challenges of our day. Prof. Otger Campàs is one of them. Website Bright Minds