How the shape of embryos and organs emerges during development is a fundamental
question that has fascinated scientists for centuries. Tissue dynamics arise from a small set …

Cell–cell junctions are specializations of the plasma membrane responsible for physically
integrating cells into tissues. We are now beginning to appreciate the diverse impacts that …

Patterns are ubiquitous in living systems and underlie the dynamic organization of cells,
tissues, and embryos. Mathematical frameworks have been devised to account for the self …

A long-term aim of the life sciences is to understand how organismal shape is encoded by
the genome. An important challenge is to identify mechanistic links between the genes that …

The generation of organismal form—morphogenesis—arises from forces produced at the
cellular level. In animal cells, much of this force is produced by the actin cytoskeleton. Here …

During epithelial tissue development, repair, and homeostasis, adherens junctions (AJs)
ensure intercellular adhesion and tissue integrity while allowing for cell and tissue …

We introduce an Active Vertex Model (AVM) for cell-resolution studies of the mechanics of
confluent epithelial tissues consisting of tens of thousands of cells, with a level of detail …

Biological systems display a rich phenomenology of states that resemble the physical states
of matter-solid, liquid and gas. These phases result from the interactions between the …

Tissue morphogenesis arises from coordinated changes in cell shape driven by actomyosin
contractions. Patterns of gene expression regionalize cell behaviours by controlling …

Contractile forces are the end effectors of cell migration, division, morphogenesis, wound
healing and cancer invasion. Here we report optogenetic tools to upregulate and …