Handed motor interactions create active chiral cytoskeletal networks.

Cells, the building blocks of life, move deform and perform mechanical work

autonomously. Internally, these abilities are powered by self organized networks

of  chiral filaments and motor molecules, which are collectively called the

cytoskeleton. We construct the theoretical framework that allows us to derive

the large scale material properties of cytoskeletal networks from microscale

interactions. In this talk, I will highlight how the handedness of motor-filament  

interactions shapes the emergent material properties. In particular, I will discuss

the emergence of chiral contributions to the stress tensor and their macroscopic 

consequences.