From Flu to Flubots: Mechanisms of Environment-Driven Active Matter

This project explores a fundamental question in non-equilibrium physics: how nanoscale particles actively navigate dense, complex environments without internal energy sources like molecular motors. Taking inspiration from the Influenza A virus, the research investigates a new type of environment-driven active matter that achieves directed transport by strategically modifying its surroundings. Using surface proteins to bind and cut receptors in their path, these particles can extract free energy from the environment to propel themselves forward. This work seeks to establish the basic physical principles governing this form of motion, potentially leading to the development of synthetic particles capable of navigating through complex biological barriers. To achieve this, the project establishes a theoretical and experimental framework for understanding how spatial protein organization and dimensionality determine transport persistence. The investigators will examine how the rotation-translation coupling in two and three dimensions, along with the asymmetric segregation of binding and cleaving activities, enables particles to maintain directed trajectories over long timescales. Through the characterization of attenuated natural virus strains and development of noninfectious engineered synthetic mimics, the investigators will map the “Goldilocks zone” of molecular parameters required for efficient locomotion and train AI models to identify strains from their motion. This study advances concepts in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and information theory, investigating how multivalent interactions allow for gradient sensing without internal signaling, as well as how shared environmental memory drives emergent collective behavior among populations of active particles. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2610048 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Daniel Fletcher | Institution: University of California-Berkeley, BERKELEY, CA | Award Amount: $570,000 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2610048 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2610048.html