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.

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.