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Explore a field-theoretical framework for understanding morphogenesis in Hydra regeneration through this 30-minute conference talk from the Workshop on "Extremal Statistics in Biology" at the Erwin Schrödinger International Institute. Discover how Hydra, a simple freshwater organism with remarkable regenerative capacity, serves as an ideal model for studying morphogenesis due to its bilayer structure of approximately 100,000 cells and ability to regenerate into a complete animal from small tissue fragments without significant cell division. Learn about the rapid morphological transition from spherical to cylindrical structure that occurs after a period of morphological stasis, and examine the field-theoretical model based on coupling between calcium ion fluctuations and local tissue curvature. Understand how this coupling defines a morphological potential characterized as a tilted double-well system, with one minimum representing the spherical state and another representing an elongated, tube-like structure. Analyze the model's prediction that morphological transition resembles a first-order-like phase transition, supported by instanton-based estimates of transition times compared to experimental data. Investigate the experimental validation through periodic modulation of the morphological potential that induces stochastic resonance, observed as stochastic swings in tissue shape, demonstrating the practical applications of this theoretical framework in understanding biological morphogenesis.
