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Multicellular systems are living organisms that are composed of numerous interacting cells. In synthetic biology, multicellularity allows some degree of modularity in the combination of elementary functions performed by separate cells.
We demonstrate that self-enhanced mobility offers a simple physical mechanism for pattern formation in living systems and, more generally, in other active matter systems near the boundary of fluid- and solid-like behaviours.
Mechanotransduction can be defined as translating physical forces into gene expression, which subsequently drives cell fate. Here, Teuscher et al. showed that mechanotransduction across multiple tissues and extracellular matrices is essential for promoting longevity in vivo.
Imbalance in the growth rate of two organs can perturb their appropriate scaling. Here, Stojanovski et al., identify a mechanism involving the mechanotransducer YAP-1 which ensures proper proportions of the pharynx and the body length of C. elegans.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Yury Goltsev and Garry Nolan describe a multiplexed tissue imaging technique called CODEX that enables rapid tissue staining with multiple DNA-barcoded antibodies.
Comparative metabolomic analyses of the guts of healthy colonized versus germ-free mice helped map microbial metabolites across the various intestinal niches. The microbial origin and biochemical processes underlying several metabolites could be inferred, even in areas difficult to access, such as the small intestine.
Existing methods to infer cell–cell communication from single-cell RNA-sequencing data fail to leverage the full information structure of the data, generally by operating at the level of the cell type or cluster. We describe a framework called Scriabin to perform this analysis at the level of the individual cell.
New instruments are needed to realize the potential of quantitative and systematic imaging of living samples. But what would such a microscope look like?