Mechanical instabilities are shown to underlie the development of bacterial biofilm morphology, suggesting an ancient origin for mechano-morphogenesis, which is known to drive developmental processes in tissues in higher organisms.

Deregulated cell fate specification pathways, including oncogenic Ras, cause activation of JNK-signaling at contact sites with wild type cells, which drives apoptosis and aberrant cell elimination in a contact-dependent manner.

N-cadherin at heterotypic contacts controls the level and asymmetric localisation of Myosin-II motor, thereby influencing cell shapes and cell packing.

Mechanochemical coupling between interfacial force and biosurfactant kinetics can coordinate large-scale material transport in primitive life forms, suggesting a new principle to engineer self-organized microbial communities.

Analysing Myosin II unipolar planar polarisation with high spatial and temporal resolution during Drosophila axis extension reveals how tissue boundaries drive polarized cell intercalation while limiting cell mixing.

All-atom molecular dynamics simulations of an αβ T-cell receptor complexed with the major histocompatibility complex molecule presenting wild-type or mutant antigenic peptides reveal how it uses conserved framework motion to discriminate antigens by leveraging physiological force applied during immune surveillance.

The gating mechanism of trimeric ATP-gated P2X receptors has been explored using photo-switchable cross-linkers, via a versatile strategy that could be applied to other membrane proteins.

A fibronectin matrix constantly remodels to the area of highest mechanical stress, and the resulting fibronectin-mediated inter-tissue adhesion impedes neural tube convergence.

Restoration of molecular and morphological symmetry and mechanical integrity following epithelial fusion relies on adaptive changes that are mediated by cytoskeletal tension and Bazooka dependent modulation of fusing interface geometry.

In parallel to protein-driven processes, characteristic physicochemical properties of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane modulate intracellular fat accumulation and lipid droplet formation.