Living cells are active mechanical systems that are able to generate forces. Their structure
and shape are primarily determined by biopolymer filaments and molecular motors that form …

Cellular cytoskeletal mechanics plays a major role in many aspects of human health from
organ development to wound healing, tissue homeostasis and cancer metastasis. We …

Active matter systems, and in particular the cell cytoskeleton, exhibit complex
mechanochemical dynamics that are still not well understood. While prior computational …

The actin cytoskeleton—a complex, nonequilibrium network consisting of filaments, actin-
crosslinking proteins (ACPs) and motors—confers cell structure and functionality, from …

Molecular catch bonds are ubiquitous in biology and essential for processes like leucocyte
extravasion and cellular mechanosensing. Unlike normal (slip) bonds, catch bonds …

Cell-extracellular matrix forces provide pivotal signals regulating diverse physiological and
pathological processes. Although mechanobiology has been widely studied in two …

Actomyosin-based cortical flow is a fundamental engine for cellular morphogenesis. Cortical
flows are generated by cross-linked networks of actin filaments and myosin motors, in which …

Cells assemble numerous types of actomyosin bundles that generate contractile forces for
biological processes, such as cytokinesis and cell migration. One example of contractile …

Cells modulate themselves in response to the surrounding environment like substrate
elasticity, exhibiting structural reorganization driven by the contractility of cytoskeleton. The …

The actin cortex has a well-documented ability to rapidly remodel and flow while maintaining
long-range connectivity, but how this is achieved remains poorly understood. Here, we use …