Inverse problems in statistical physics are motivated by the challenges of 'big data'in
different fields, in particular high-throughput experiments in biology. In inverse problems, the …

In the course of evolution, proteins undergo important changes in their amino acid
sequences, while their three-dimensional folded structure and their biological function …

Collective behavior in biological systems is a complex topic, to say the least. It runs wildly
across scales in both space and time, involving taxonomically vastly different organisms …

We show that the evidence for a local arrow of time, which is equivalent to the entropy
production in thermodynamic systems, can be decomposed. In a system with many degrees …

Birds in a flock move in a correlated way, resulting in large polarization of velocities. A good
understanding of this collective behavior exists for linear motion of the flock. Yet observing …

A cornerstone of statistical inference, the maximum entropy framework is being increasingly
applied to construct descriptive and predictive models of biological systems, especially …

The correlated motion of flocks is an example of global order emerging from local
interactions. An essential difference with respect to analogous ferromagnetic systems is that …

The adaptive immune system relies on the diversity of receptors expressed on the surface of
B-and T cells to protect the organism from a vast amount of pathogenic threats. The …

Ever since Clausius in 1865 and Boltzmann in 1877, the concepts of entropy and of its
maximization have been the foundations for predicting how material equilibria derive from …

There is a growing effort in the “physics of behavior” that aims at complete quantitative
characterization of animal movements under more complex, naturalistic conditions. One …