The past 20 years have witnessed ever-growing evidence that the mechanical properties of
biological tissues, from nanoscale to macroscale dimensions, are fundamental for cellular …

Fast, high-resolution, non-destructive and quantitative characterization methods are needed
to develop materials with tailored properties at the nanoscale or to understand the …

Cell function depends on tissue rigidity, which cells probe by applying and transmitting
forces to their extracellular matrix, and then transducing them into biochemical signals. Here …

The ability of cells to follow gradients of extracellular matrix stiffness—durotaxis—has been
implicated in development, fibrosis, and cancer. Here, we found multicellular clusters that …

Mechanical properties play important roles at different scales in biology. At the level of a
single cell, the mechanical properties mediate mechanosensing and mechanotransduction …

The physical properties of two-dimensional (2D) extracellular matrices (ECMs) modulate cell
adhesion dynamics and motility, but little is known about the roles of local …

Cells can sense the density and distribution of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules by
means of individual integrin proteins and larger, integrin-containing adhesion complexes …

Living systems operate far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Enzymatic activity can induce
broken detailed balance at the molecular scale. This molecular scale breaking of detailed …

Currently, biomechanics of living cells is in the focus of interest due to noticeable capability
of such techniques like atomic force microscopy (AFM) to probe cellular properties at the …

When animal cells enter mitosis, they round up to become spherical. This shape change is
accompanied by changes in mechanical properties. Multiple studies using different …