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arXiv · 2312.08609

Non-equilibrium physics of multi-species assembly: From inhibition of fibrils in biomolecular condensates to growth of online distrust

Pedro D. Manrique·Frank Yingjie Huo·Sara El Oud·Neil F. Johnson
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Abstract

Self-assembly is a key process in living systems - from the microscopic biological level (e.g. assembly of proteins into fibrils within biomolecular condensates in a human cell) through to the macroscopic societal level (e.g. assembly of humans into common-interest communities across online social media platforms). The components in such systems (e.g. macromolecules, humans) are highly diverse, and so are the self-assembled structures that they form. However, there is no simple theory of how such structures assemble from a multi-species pool of components. Here we provide a very simple model which trades myriad chemical and human details for a transparent analysis, and yields results in good agreement with recent empirical data. It reveals a new inhibitory role for biomolecular condensates in the formation of dangerous amyloid fibrils, as well as a kinetic explanation of why so many diverse distrust movements are now emerging across social media. The nonlinear dependencies that we uncover suggest new real-world control strategies for such multi-species assembly.

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Pedro D. Manrique, Frank Yingjie Huo, Sara El Oud, Neil F. Johnson. 2023-12-14. Non-equilibrium physics of multi-species assembly: From inhibition of fibrils in biomolecular condensates to growth of online distrust. https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.08609

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