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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 38: Microswimmers and Fluid Physics of Life (joint session DY/CPP)
CPP 38.1: Talk
Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 15:00–15:15, MOL 213
Physics of gut motility governs digestion and bacterial growth — •Agnese Codutti1, Jonas Cremer2, and Karen Alim1 — 1School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Germany — 2Biology Department, Stanford University, USA
Malfunctioning of the small intestine contractility and the ensuing bacterial population therein are linked to a plethora of diseases. We, here, study how the small intestine’s variety of contractility patterns impacts nutrient uptake and bacterial population [1]. Our analytical derivations in agreement with simulations identify flow velocity as the key control parameter of the nutrients uptake efficiency and bacterial growth, independently of the specifics of contractility patterns. Self-regulating flow velocity in response to the number of nutrients and bacteria in the gut allows for achieving 100% efficiency in nutrient uptake. Instead of the specifics of intestine contractility, our work points to the flow velocity and its variation in time within the intestine to prevent malfunctioning.
[1] Codutti A., Cremer J., Alim K., "Changing Flows Balance Nutrient Absorption and Bacterial Growth along the Gut" PRL 129, 138101 (2022)