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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Molecular ``spiders'' are artificially produced objects which have ``legs'' made of DNA strands. Spiders can move on a surface with attached complementary DNA strands. The motion of a spider affects the surface and hence the proper description of the motion of a single spider already requires the knowledge of its entire trajectory (infinite memory). Many interacting spiders add another level of complexity. The properties of the spider (e.g., the nature of its gait) represent another challenge. In this talk, I shall discuss some of these challenges. I then analyze the motion of a toy spider (no memory). I will show that the structure of the spider greatly affects its characteristics (velocity and diffusion coefficient).