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ABSTRACTBiological systems are unique because they are hierarchically assembled from energy-using subunits, from the nanoscale all the way to the macroscale. This gives biological systems novel abilities such as self-organized development, self-healing, and memory and learning. We seek to recapitulate and understand the fundamental mechanisms of these phenomena using reconstituted systems built from the bottom up. In the Ross Lab, we focus on two different biological systems to investigate how energy is used for self-organization and self-healing. The first system uses DNA-origami chassis to create designer active particles driven by urease enzymes. We find that the enzymes—both free in solution and attached to DNA-origami—drive faster-than-expected diffusion, providing a basis for nanoscale active matter processes. The second system is an active cytoskeleton–kinesin motor system that organizes into steady-state patterns. We use laser ablation to locally destroy the network. This allows us to examine the network’s ability to remember or forget its initial self-organized pattern
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