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The year 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of protein acetylation. In this Timeline article, Verdin and Ott discuss the identification of this modification, of its regulatory enzymes and of the roles of acetylation in transcription and other cellular processes, and provide an outlook on the future of the field.
The form of vertebrates is shaped by the sensing and relaying of mechanical forces that are applied between cells and their microenvironment. Mechanobiology has emerged as a field of research dedicated to studying these forces and their communication through signalling processes, which are collectively known as mechanotransduction.