This Colloquium will cover recent research on the behaviour and pattern formation by populations of micro-organisms, (e.g. bacteria, algae and slime moulds), as well as by motile cells (such as leukocytes and endothelial cells) which are parts of higher organisms and form structures during growth and in disease. The meeting will promote the sharing of ideas and techniques between the groups, both mathematical and experimental, working in these different areas. Common themes are expected to be
- the mechanics of locomotion by pattern forming cells, on a substrate or swimming freely, and
- the use of random walk theory to describe individual trajectories and derive continuum models.