📣Announcing the 4th edition of the EMBL‑IBEC Conference on “Engineering Multicellular Systems”, taking place 11–13 March 2026 in Barcelona. Exploring organoids, mechanobiology, embryo models, organ-on-chip systems, multiomics and more. Abstracts open now!
events.ibecbarcelona.eu/embl-ibec-co...

These topological transitions provide epithelia with a multiscale mechanism to adapt to sustained stretch. Beautifully modelled by Marco Pensalfini and Marino Arroyo.

New preprint! 🚨 We uncover a slow adaptation to stretch that links star-bundling of keratin filaments with nuclear escape from its keratin cage. Led by @tomgolde.bsky.social‬ 🙌
@IBECBarcelona
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🚨 Second preprint of the week!

We uncover the multiscale dynamics of active viscoelastic buckling in epithelia.

We harness these mechanical instabilities for synthetic morphogenesis.

Led by @onenimesa.bsky.social 🙌. Theory by Marino Arroyo etal. @ibecbarcelona.eu

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

How to turn a layer of fibroblasts into a tulip 🌷?

Check out our new pre-print on shape-programmable living surfaces.

Led by @pauguillamat.bsky.social‬

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Great one-day meeting on #cancer #mechanobiology in Paris (March 14th).

New paper from the lab🎈. Introducing Micro Immune Response On-chip (MIRO), a device that replicates tumors and their microenvironment to better understand responses to immunotherapies (cyan=immune cells, red=cancer, green=CAFs).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@ibecbarcelona.eu

After five decades of outstanding science and mentorship, Jeff Fredberg is retiring. Today, we gather in Boston to celebrate his career. A truly special day for all of us who had the privilege of growing under his leadership!

The IOP Mechanobiology meeting starts strong with @johannaivaska.bsky.social telling us that cells do not necessarily migrate towards stiff and that nuclear YAP does not necessarily correlate with cell spreading. 💪

🎈New preprint! We study how single cells move up, down and about fibronectin gradients. Experiments by @icfortunato.bsky.social, theory by David Bruckner. Collaboration with @raimonsunyer.bsky.social and @ehannezo.bsky.social 👇https://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2024.12.02.626413v1

Next week in London: Mechanobiology Shaping Life.
The deadline for registration is tomorrow, 26/11.
iop.eventsair.com/msl2025/

And they should all be equipped with a blackboard like those at the Erwin Schrödinger Institute in Vienna (couldn’t help taking a picture 😅). #BringYourOwnChalk

A couple of recent multi-author perspectives on the present and future of physical biology.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.cell.com/current-biol...

We can measure 3D forces exerted by cells confined to 3D wells of controlled geometry. Using cylindrical wells, we found that cells can push or pull depending on their size. Given all we've learned by measuring tractions in 2D micropatterned cells, we're quite excited about this 3D technique!

Introducing "3D Micropatterned Traction Force Microscopy", our new joint work with Pere Roca-Cusach's lab, led by amazing Laura Faure and Manu Gómez. Hope you find it useful!👇
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....