Mechanical properties of extracellular matrices (ECMs) regulate essential cell behaviours,
including differentiation, migration and proliferation, through mechanotransduction. Studies …

Polymer materials provide solutions to some of the most pressing environmental,
manufacturing and health-care challenges. Traditional thermoplastic and thermoset …

Cells' local mechanical environment can be as important in guiding cellular responses as
many well-characterized biochemical cues. Hydrogels that mimic the native extracellular …

Cells and tissues generate and are exposed to various mechanical forces that act across a
range of scales, from tissues to cells to organelles. Forces provide crucial signals to inform …

Mechanical forces shape cells and tissues during development and adult homeostasis. In
addition, they also signal to cells via mechanotransduction pathways to control cell …

Plant architecture fundamentally differs from that of other multicellular organisms in that
individual cells serve as osmotic bricks, defined by the equilibrium between the internal …

In the last decades, the role of the microenvironment in tumor progression and therapeutic
outcome has gained increasing attention. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have …

Stem cells and their local microenvironment, or niche, communicate through mechanical
cues to regulate cell fate and cell behaviour and to guide developmental processes. During …

Skeletal muscle represents the largest body-composition component in humans. In addition
to its primary function in the maintenance of upright posture and the production of …

Physical stimuli are essential for the function of eukaryotic cells, and changes in physical
signals are important elements in normal tissue development as well as in disease initiation …