Cell movement is a complex phenomenon primarily driven by the actin network beneath the
cell membrane, and can be divided into three general components: protrusion of the leading …

Glasses are materials that lack a crystalline microstructure and long‐range atomic order.
Instead, they feature heterogeneity and disorder on superstructural scales, which have …

Environmental problems have contributed to numerous collapses of civilizations in the past.
Now, for the first time, a global collapse appears likely. Overpopulation, overconsumption by …

Molecular motors in cells typically produce highly directed motion; however, the aggregate,
incoherent effect of all active processes also creates randomly fluctuating forces, which drive …

Megakaryocytes generate platelets by remodeling their cytoplasm into long proplatelet
extensions, which serve as assembly lines for platelet production. Although the mechanics of …

The mechanical properties of a cell determine many aspects of its behavior, and these mechanics
are largely determined by the cytoskeleton. Although the contribution of actin filaments …

Micrometer-sized hydrogel particles that contain living cells can be fabricated with exquisite
control through the use of droplet-based microfluidics and bioinert polymers such as …

Control over neuronal growth is a fundamental objective in neuroscience, cell biology,
developmental biology, biophysics, and biomedicine and is particularly important for the formation …

Mechanical stresses elicit cellular reactions mediated by chemical signals. Defective
responses to forces underlie human medical disorders 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 such as cardiac failure 5 and …

The actin cytoskeleton is a key element of cell structure and movement whose properties are
determined by a host of accessory proteins. Actin cross-linking proteins create a connected …