Publications & Popular Articles

Selected Publications

C. Rodier, I.D. Estabrook, E.H. Chan, G. Rice, V. Loreau, S. Raunser, D. Görlich, B.M. Friedrich*, F. Schnorrer*: Muscle growth by sarcomere division. Science Advances 11(28), eadw9445, 2025

I. Babenko, N. Kröger, B.M. Friedrich: Mechanism of branching morphogenesis inspired by diatom silica formation, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121(10): e2309518121, 2024

F. Kolley, C. Sidor, B. Dehapiot, F. Schnorrer, B.M. Friedrich: Mechanisms of sarcomere assembly in muscle cells inferred from sequential ordering of myofibril components, PRX Life 2: 013002, 2024

J. Rode, M. Novak, B.M. Friedrich: Information theory of chemotactic agents using both spatial and temporal gradient-sensing, PRX Life 2: 023012, 2024

H. Morales-Navarrete, H. Nonaka, A. Scholich, F. Segovia-Miranda, W. de Back, K. Meyer, R.L. Bogorad, V. Koteliansky, L. Brusch, Y. Kalaidzidis*, F. Jülicher*, B.M. Friedrich*, M. Zerial*: Liquid-crystal organization of liver tissue, eLife 8, e44860, 2019 (*shared corresponding author)

J.F. Jikeli*, L. Alvarez*, B.M. Friedrich*, L.G. Wilson*, R. Pascal, R. Colin, M. Pichlo, A. Rennhack, C. Brenker, U.B. Kaupp: Sperm navigation along helical paths in 3D chemoattractant landscapes, Nature Communications 6, 7985, 2015 (*equal contribution)

S. Werner, T. Stückemann, M. Beiran Amigo, J.C. Rink, F. Jülicher, B.M. Friedrich: Scaling and regeneration of self-organized patterns, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, p. 138101, 2015

Publications

H. Hamzeh, A. Gong, M. Balbach, D. Fridman, H.G. Körschen, R. Pascal, F. Lavryk, A. Rennhack, R. Seifert, A. Hernandez-Clavijo, S. Pifferi, V. Dusend, B.K. Fleischmann, P. Sasse, A. Menini, B.M. Friedrich*, L. Alvarez*, U.B. Kaupp*: Deciphering Rapid Cell Signaling and Control of Cell Motility by Reverse Opto-Chemical Engineering, PRX Life 4(1): 013020, 2026

F. Kolley-Köchel, F. Schnorrer*, B.M. Friedrich*: The physical basis of sarcomere self-assembly, Biophysics Reviews 6(4): 041305, 2025

N. Lyubaykina, D. Knapp*, P. Tardivo, M. Kotz, T. Sandoval-Guzmán*, B.M. Friedrich*: Static morphogen scaling enables proportional growth in a tissue growth model inspired by axolotl limb regeneration, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122(47): e2503086122, 2025

J. Simmchen, D. Gordon, J. MacKenzie, I. Pagonabarraga, C.C. Roggatz, R.G. Endres, Z. Xiao, B.M. Friedrich, T. Qiu, K.J. Painter, R. Golestanian, C. Contini, M.C. Ucar, G. Yossifon, J.U. Sommer, W.J. Rappel, K.Y. Wan, J. Armitage, R. Insall: Perspective on Interdisciplinary Approaches on Chemotaxis, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 64(47): e202504790, 2025

C. Rodier, I.D. Estabrook, E.H.Y. Chan, G. Rice, V. Loreau, S. Raunser, D. Görlich, B.M. Friedrich*, F. Schnorrer*: Muscle growth by sarcomere divisions, Sci. Adv. 11(28): eadw9445, 2025

M. Striegler, S. Diez*, B.M. Friedrich*, V.F. Geyer*: Twist–torsion coupling in beating axonemes, Nat. Phys. 21(4): 599–607, 2025

A. Sharma, B.M. Friedrich*, V.F. Geyer*: Active fluctuations of axoneme oscillations scale with number of dynein motors, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121(46): e2406244121, 2024

I. Babenko, N. Kröger, B.M. Friedrich: Mechanism of branching morphogenesis inspired by diatom silica formation, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121(10): e2309518121, 2024

F. Kolley, C. Sidor, B. Dehapiot, F. Schnorrer, B.M. Friedrich: Mechanisms of sarcomere assembly in muscle cells inferred from sequential ordering of myofibril components, PRX Life 2: 013002, 2024

J. Rode, M. Novak, B.M. Friedrich: Information theory of chemotactic agents using both spatial and temporal gradient-sensing, PRX Life 2: 023012, 2024

R.O. Ramakrishnan, B.M. Friedrich: Learning run-and-tumble chemotaxis with support vector machines, EPL 142: 47001, 2023

C. Ringers, S. Bialonski, M. Ege, A. Solovev, J.N. Hansen, I. Jeong, B.M Friedrich, N. Jurisch-Yaksi: Novel analytical tools reveal that local synchronization of cilia coincides with tissue-scale metachronal waves in zebrafish multiciliated epithelia, eLife 12:e77701, 2023

J. Gopalakrishnan, K. Feistel, B.M Friedrich, A. Grapin‐Botton, N. Jurisch‐Yaksi, E. Mass, D.U. Mick, R.-U. Müller, ..., D. Wachten: Emerging principles of primary cilia dynamics in controlling tissue organization and function, EMBO J. 42(21): e113891, 2023

C. Heintze, I. Babenko, J.Z. Suchanova, A Skeffington, B.M Friedrich, N. Kröger: The molecular basis for pore pattern morphogenesis in diatom silica, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 119(49):e2211549119, 2022

R.O. Ramakrishnan, A. Auconi and B.M. Friedrich: Learning stochastic filtering, EPL 140: 31002, 2022

A. Auconi, M. Novak and B.M. Friedrich: Gradient sensing in Bayesian chemotaxis, EPL 138: 12001, 2022

A. Solovev, B.M. Friedrich: Synchronization in cilia carpets: multiple metachronal waves are stable, but one wave dominates, New J. Phys. 24: 013015, 2022

A. Solovev, B.M. Friedrich: Synchronization in cilia carpets and the Kuramoto model with local coupling: breakup of global synchronization in the presence of noise, Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science 32 013124, 2022 (arXiv:2109.08639)

A. Solovev, B.M. Friedrich: Lagrangian Mechanics of Active Systems, Eur. Phys. J. E 44:49, 2021

S. Lange, B.M. Friedrich: Sperm chemotaxis in marine species is optimal at physiological flow rates according theory of filament surfing, New J. Phys., 23:043026, 2021

M. Novak, B.M. Friedrich: Bayesian gradient sensing in the presence of rotational diffusion, New J. Phys. 23:043026, 2021

S. Lange, B.M. Friedrich: Network permeability changes according to a quadratic power law upon removal of a single edge, Europhysics Letters 134 64002, 2021

Friedrich Striggow, Lidiia Nadporozhskaia, B.M. Friedrich, O.G. Schmidt, M. Medina-Sánchez: Micromotor-mediated sperm constrictions for improved swimming performance, Eur. Phys. J. E 44:67, 2021

A. Gong, S. Rode, G. Gompper, U.B. Kaupp, J. Elgeti, B.M. Friedrich, L. Alvarez: Reconstruction of the 3D beat pattern underlying swimming behaviors of sperm, Eur. Phys. J. E 44:87, 2021

J.A. Kromer, A. Auconi, B.M. Friedrich: Composite search of active particles in three-dimensional space based on non-directional cues, ChemNanoMat 7:1057, 2021

A. Auconi, B.M. Friedrich, A. Giansanti: Fluctuation-response theorem for Kullback-Leibler divergences to quantify causation, EPL, 135:28002, 2021

I. Babenko, B.M. Friedrich, N. Kröger: Structure and Morphogenesis of the Frustule (book chapter), in press at Springer

A. Scholich, S. Syga, H. Morales-Navarrete, F. Segovia-Miranda, H. Nonaka, K. Meyer, W. de Back, L. Brusch, Y. Kalaidzidis, M. Zerial, F. Jülicher, B.M. Friedrich: Quantification of nematic cell polarity in three-dimensional tissues, PLoS Comp. Biol. 16(12): e1008412, 2020

J. Karschau, A. Scholich, J. Wise, H. Morales-Navarette, Y. Kalaidzidis, M. Zerial, B.M. Friedrich: Resilience of three-dimensional sinusoidal networks in liver tissue, PLoS Comp. Biol. 16(6), e1007965, 2020

F. Striggow, M. Medina-Sánchez, V. Magdanz, G.K. Auernhammer, B.M. Friedrich, O.G. Schmidt: Sperm-driven micromotors moving in oviduct fluid and viscoelastic media, Small 16, 2000213, 2020

J.A. Kromer, N. de la Cruz, B.M. Friedrich: Chemokinetic scattering, trapping, and avoidance of active Brownian particles, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 118101, 2020

A. Gong, S. Rode, U.B. Kaupp, G. Gompper, J. Elgeti, B.M. Friedrich, and L. Alvarez: The steering gaits of sperm, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 375(1792), 20190149, 2019

A. Thommen*, S. Werner*, O. Frank*, J. Philipp, O. Knittelfelder, Y. Quek, K. Fahmy, A. Shevchenko, B.M. Friedrich, F. Jülicher, Frank, J.C. Rink: Body size-dependent energy storage causes Kleiber’s law scaling of the metabolic rate in planarians, eLife 8, e38187, 2019

N. Biere, M. Ghaffar, A. Doebbe, D. Jäger, N. Rothe, B.M. Friedrich, R. Hofestädt, F. Schreiber, O. Kruse, B. Sommer: Heuristic modeling and 3D stereoscopic visualization of a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cell, Journal of Integrative Bioinformatics 15(2), 2018

J. Karschau, M. Zimmerling, B.M. Friedrich: Renormalization group theory for percolation in time-varying networks, Scientific Reports 8, 8011, 2018

B.M. Friedrich: Load response of shape-changing microswimmers scales with their energy efficiency, Phys. Rev. E 97, 042416, 2018

D.A. Hidalgo, S. Werner, O. Wartlick, M. González-Gaitán, B.M. Friedrich, F. Jülicher: Dynamic gradient scaling as a critical point of growth control, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 198102, 2018

J. A. Kromer, S. Märcker, S. Lange, C. Baier, B.M. Friedrich: Decision making for sperm chemotaxis in the presence of noise, PLoS Comp. Biol. 14(4): e1006109, 2018

For older publications, please see google scholar

Preprints/Submitted

F. Akbar, V.F. Geyer, B.M. Friedrich, M. Kotz, S. Diez, M. Medina-Sánchez: Programmable microactuators phase-lock cilia to local oscillatory flow, bioRxiv: 2026.05.14.725102, 2026

M. Kotz, V.F. Geyer, B.M. Friedrich: Motor shot noise explains active fluctuations in a single cilium, arXiv preprint: arXiv:2512.10727, 2025