Our new paper in PRL investigates an effective fluctuation response relationship in biofilms featuring death and reproduction. The fluctuation-dissipation theorem, derived by Harry Nyquist in the 1920’s, is essential to our understanding of equilibrium solids. The relationship between thermal fluctuations and mechanical responses provided a framework through which mechanical properties of solids were measurable and predictable. Our paper. The same may be possible for living films; we investigated it in collaboration with the Hammer lab, here at Georgia Tech’s School of Biological Sciences. Our work builds on a beautiful paper from Risler, Peilloux, and Proust, which investigated a model of apoptosis and reproduction in tissues.