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  • RESEARCH BRIEFINGS

Mechanical forces as a signal in embryonic self-organization

A developing embryo is shaped by forces that are generated by the active contraction of its cells and transmitted across its parts. These forces also allow the embryo to perceive its own form and adjust the proportions of cell types, supporting orderly development in the face of inherent variability and perturbations.

This is a summary of: Caldarelli, P. et al. Self-organized tissue mechanics underlie embryonic regulation. Nature 633, 887–894 (2024).

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03081-2

Figure 1 is published under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

References

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