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 …

Stem cells and their local microenvironment, or niche, communicate through mechanical
cues to regulate cell fate and cell behaviour and to guide developmental processes. During …

Integrins are heterodimeric cell surface receptors ensuring the mechanical connection
between cells and the extracellular matrix. In addition to the anchorage of cells to the …

Collective cell migration is essential for morphogenesis, tissue remodelling and cancer
invasion,. In vivo, groups of cells move in an orchestrated way through tissues. This …

The skin is a multilayered organ, equipped with appendages (that is, follicles and glands),
that is critical for regulating body temperature and the retention of bodily fluids, guarding …

There is increasing evidence that both mechanical and biochemical signals play important
roles in development and disease. The development of complex organisms, in particular …

Life is characterized by a myriad of complex dynamic processes allowing organisms to grow,
reproduce, and evolve. Physical approaches for describing systems out of thermodynamic …

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 …

We review the general hydrodynamic theory of active soft materials that is motivated in
particular by biological matter. We present basic concepts of irreversible thermodynamics of …

Embryonic cells grow in environments that provide a plethora of physical cues, including
mechanical forces that shape the development of the entire embryo. Despite their …