New force sensing method reveals how cells sense tissue stiffness

Just as we can feel whether we are lying on a soft blanket or hard rocks, our cells sense whether they are in a soft or rigid mechanical environment. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying cells' ability to detect tissue stiffness are largely unknown. Mechanical forces acting across individual molecules in cells are extremely small and cannot be measured by conventional methods. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried have now developed a new technique to quan