The forces that squeeze and pull life into shape

An embryo develops from a sphere of cells thanks, in part, to the forces that squeeze, bend and tug the growing animal into shape. Even when it reaches adulthood, its cells will continue to respond to pushing and pulling — by each other and from the environment. Yet how bodies and tissues take form remains one of the most important, and still poorly understood, questions of our time. Researchers have begun to define the mechanisms by which cells sense, respond to and generate forces using innovative tools and techniques, both in vitro and in whole animals.