Les Houches Lectures on Flow Networks in Biology
arXiv:2510.21905 · doi:10.21468/SciPostPhysLectNotes.101
Abstract
Flows are essential to transport resources over large distances. As soon as diffusion becomes time-limiting, flows are needed. Flows are key for the function of multiple human organs, from the blood vasculature to the lungs, the digestive tract, the lymphatic system, and many more. While physics governs the flow dynamics, biology's response to flows governs the flow network architecture. We start with the fluid physics of Stokes flow, the prerequisite to describe the flows in biological flow networks. Then we explore how the network adaptation dynamics of biological flow networks reorganize network architecture to minimize flow dissipation or homogenize transport, storing memories of past flows along the way.
Lectures at the 2023 Les Houches Summer School on Theoretical Biophysics
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