Skip to main content

Illinois IGB

Ning Wang

Probe can measure both cell stiffness and traction, researchers report

January 27, 2023

Scientists have developed a tiny mechanical probe that can measure the inherent stiffness of cells and tissues as well as the internal forces the cells generate and exert on one another. Their new “magnetic microrobot” is the first such probe to be able to quantify both properties, the researchers report, and will aid in understanding cellular processes associated with development and disease.

They detail their findings in the journal Science Robotics.


January 27, 2023


Related Articles

Gene expression altered by direction of forces acting on cell

September 29, 2020

Tissues and cells in the human body are subjected to a constant push and pull – strained by other cells, blood pressure and fluid flow, to name a few. The type and direction of the force on a cell alters gene expression by stretching different regions of DNA, researchers at Illinois and collaborators in China found in a new study.

The findings could provide insights into physiology and diseases such as fibrosis, cardiovascular disease and malignant cancer, the researchers said.


September 29, 2020


Related Articles

Physical force alone spurs gene expression

April 3, 2020

Cells will ramp up gene expression in response to physical forces alone, a new study finds. Gene activation, the first step of protein production, starts less than one millisecond after a cell is stretched - hundreds of times faster than chemical signals can travel, the researchers report.

The scientists tested forces that are biologically relevant - equivalent to those exerted on human cells by breathing, exercising or vocalizing. They report their findings in the journal Science Advances.


April 3, 2020


Related Articles

New Technique First Step to Stem Cell Specialization

June 22, 2014

The gap between stem cell research and regenerative medicine just became a lot narrower, thanks to a new technique that coaxes stem cells, with potential to become any tissue type, to take the first step to specialization. It is the first time this critical step has been demonstrated in a laboratory.



University of Illinois researchers, in collaboration with scientists at Notre Dame University and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, published their results in the journal Nature Communications.


June 22, 2014


Related Articles

Subscribe to Ning Wang