Simulation Video (VIDEO)

Simons Foundation

Caption

A mathematical simulation of fluid flow inside the immature egg cell of the common fruit fly. Microtubules (gray lines) extend from the cell's membrane. Payload-dragging molecular motors on the microtubules drive local currents and cause the microtubules to buckle. The currents cause neighboring microtubules to bend in the same direction, aligning the currents and generating a cell-spanning whirlpool (blue arrows).

Credit

D. Stein et al./Physical Reviews Letters 2021

Usage Restrictions

None

License

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