Cellular signaling networks are the foundation which determines the fate and function of
cells as they respond to various cues and stimuli. The discovery of fluorescent proteins over …

The ability of cells to sense and respond to mechanical signals is vital in development and
healthy tissue functioning. Many diseases are related to either changing mechanical …

The ability of cells to generate mechanical forces, but also to sense, adapt to, and respond to
mechanical signals, is crucial for many developmental, postnatal homeostatic, and …

Mechanical forces acting on ligand-engaged T-cell receptors (TCRs) have previously been
implicated in T-cell antigen recognition, yet their magnitude, spread, and dynamical …

Integrins mediate cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix and enable the construction of
complex, multicellular organisms, yet fundamental aspects of integrin-based adhesion …

In the past three decades, the ability to optically manipulate biomolecules has spurred a new
era of medical and biophysical research. Optical tweezers (OT) have enabled experimenters …

Forces play diverse roles in vascular development, homeostasis and disease. VE-cadherin
at endothelial cell-cell junctions links the contractile acto-myosin cytoskeletons of adjacent …

Molecular tension sensors have contributed to a growing understanding of mechanobiology.
However, the limited dynamic range and inability to specify the mechanical sensitivity of …

Owing to their unique abilities to manipulate, label, and image individual molecules in vitro
and in cellulo, single-molecule techniques provide previously unattainable access to …

Over the past two decades, single-molecule techniques have evolved into robust tools to
study many fundamental biological processes. The combination of optical tweezers with …