Featured
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News & Views |
Seriously non-thermal thermodynamics
Non-equilibrium thermodynamics describes activity-stabilized mixed states in complex active-matter systems.
- Tian Huang
- , Qi Pan
- & Steve Granick
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Article
| Open Access
Polarity and chirality control of an active fluid by passive nematic defects
Defects of a passive nematic liquid crystal made from actin filaments pattern the collective behaviour of active microtubules, creating macroscopic polar patterns and chiral loops.
- Alfredo Sciortino
- , Lukas J. Neumann
- & Andreas R. Bausch
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Article
| Open Access
Tissue fluidification promotes a cGAS–STING cytosolic DNA response in invasive breast cancer
Tissue fluidification in invasive breast carcinoma is accompanied by mechanical stresses that compromise nuclear integrity and liberate DNA, resulting in the activation of a pro-inflammatory response that shape tumour evolution and progression.
- Emanuela Frittoli
- , Andrea Palamidessi
- & Giorgio Scita
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News & Views |
Steering from the rear
In the absence of biochemical gradients, cancer cell migration over fibrillar isotropic collagen can occur by a mechanical self-steering process involving asymmetric matrix deformation from the rear.
- Katarina Wolf
- & Peter Friedl
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Article |
Self-generated gradients steer collective migration on viscoelastic collagen networks
Cell clusters mechanically reorganize viscoelastic collagen networks, resulting in transient gradients in collagen density, alignment and stiffness that promote spontaneous persistent migration.
- Andrew G. Clark
- , Ananyo Maitra
- & Danijela Matic Vignjevic
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Article |
A printable active network actuator built from an engineered biomolecular motor
Patterned contracting networks composed of biomolecular motors and filaments achieve millimetre-scale actuation of mechanical structures with light-triggered molecular stimuli.
- Takahiro Nitta
- , Yingzhe Wang
- & Yuichi Hiratsuka
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Article |
Investigating the nature of active forces in tissues reveals how contractile cells can form extensile monolayers
It is now revealed, using cell cultures and in silico models, that weakening intercellular contacts is a fundamental process essential for switching from extensile to contractile tissue behaviour.
- Lakshmi Balasubramaniam
- , Amin Doostmohammadi
- & Benoît Ladoux
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Article |
Traction forces at the cytokinetic ring regulate cell division and polyploidy in the migrating zebrafish epicardium
The mechanism of cytokinetic failure in the migrating zebrafish epicardium leading to multinucleated cells is shown to be driven by the interaction of the cytokinetic ring and the extracellular matrix through adhesion reinforcement by high traction forces.
- Marina Uroz
- , Anna Garcia-Puig
- & Xavier Trepat
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Article |
Long-lived force patterns and deformation waves at repulsive epithelial boundaries
At tissue boundaries, cellular repulsive events are manifested as deformation waves that result from an oscillatory pattern of traction forces and intracellular stress that pull cellular adhesions away from the boundary.
- Pilar Rodríguez-Franco
- , Agustí Brugués
- & Xavier Trepat
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News & Views |
Cell jam
Collective cell migration and jamming in the bronchial epithelium helps to understand the pathophysiology underlying asthma.
- Melody A. Swartz
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News & Views |
Moving under peer pressure
Collective cell motion in a continuous tissue is found to be guided by cooperative intercellular forces.
- Nir Gov
Cell volume expansion and local contractility drive collective invasion of the basement membrane in breast cancer
Resolution power