Abstract:
Diffusion is one of the most important features of biological systems, especially when combined with chemical reactions. In this talk I will discuss some of the mathematical consequences of Fick's law of diffusion, and how several biological organisms utilize these to facilitate their existence. The examples I will describe unclude transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide, quorum sensing by bacteria, and detection of filament length by salmonella. (To understand this talk completely, one will need to know a little bit, but not much, about ordinary differential equations.)