All you ever wanted to know about how to analyse the nematic nature of cellular tissues is right here 👀👇🏼! Bonus #1: we did it for many cell types and uncovered unexpected defect behavior 🐌 Bonus #2: for theoreticians looking for parameter values for your simulation🧑🏼‍💻 tinyurl.com/2s399yen

Just published in @science.org 🚀 By controlling how cells align, we show that living nematic tissues can be programmed to generate forces and fold into predictable 3D shapes. A new platform for tissue engineering and the design of smart active materials! 🫆 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New study on topological defects develops a mechanochemical model integrating morphogen concentration and hydrodynamic flow, reproducing experimental collective motility and revealing viscosity, activity, and alignment strength as key factors governing defect-mediated transport.

The CiM-IMPRS PhD program in #Münster is offering 16 #PhD positions in Life and Natural Sciences! Perform cutting-edge resesearch in a vibrant international setting and lively city! Apply by May 1st, 2026 - see www.uni-muenster.de/CiM-IMPRS/ap... @uni-muenster.de @mpi-muenster.bsky.social

Congratulations Guillaume #Salbreux and collaborator @aikmi.bsky.social groups for your latest publication in @cellcellpress.bsky.social: Deciphering #mechanical determinants of morphological #evolution @genevunige.bsky.social @sciencesunige.bsky.social #UNIGE 👉 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

A sea anemone looks very different from a coral, despite belonging to the same broad biological group. A new study from EMBL researchers and their colleagues sheds new light on how diversity arises in body shapes in the animal world. www.embl.org/news/science...

🔥Exciting new paper from the Ikmi group @embl.org! The authors identified a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that can be used to predict species-specific shapes by combining a comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis with active surface theory #morphogenesis #cnidaria

Amazing to see this study finally out! Proud to have contributed to the active surface modelling of cnidaria morphogenesis across species and huge congrats to Richard, Nicolas, and all authors! #morphogenesis #activematter #nematicorder #evolution

Now online! Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution

Tissue phase transitions in development: more than just mechanics In this Review, @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social, @laura-rustarazo.bsky.social and @karengrace12.bsky.social discuss tissue phase transitions during development: doi.org/10.1242/dev....

We summarised the many roles of material phase transitions in development (and they are not just mechanical 🤔)

Excited to share our new review in @dev-journal.bsky.social on tissue phase transitions during development! @karengrace12.bsky.social @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social 🔗 doi.org/10.1242/dev....

New preprint @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social by Harshath Amal and colleagues from our lab @uni-muenster.de shows how a BMP #morphogen gradient is translated into graded junctional permeability by tuning adhesion and actomyosin contractility in #Drosophila See tinyurl.com/yhbwd9xh @sfb1348.bsky.social

My lab @cri-utsw.bsky.social is looking for a highly motivated postdoct interested in mechanobiology! We are building a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary team working on how mechanical forces shape immune and cancer cell behavior. Come do cool science with me! lnkd.in/gKEXWUGy

Join us today 2-3pm online. Sign up for the Zoom link here: forms.gle/Mt3y7HQXetrb...

Isasti-Sanchez, J., Münz-Zeise, F., Lancino, M., & Luschnig, S. (2021). Transient opening of tricellular vertices controls paracellular transport through the follicle epithelium during Drosophila oogenesis. Developmental Cell, #EpithelialMechanics doi.org/10.1016/j.de...

Cellular Interfaces reloaded: Join us for the @sfb1348.bsky.social International Meeting on „Mechanochemical signals at cellular interfaces" in Münster from May 27–29, 2026. Registration opens in February! Limited spots – first come, first serve! More info: tinyurl.com/ypyzd23w @uni-muenster.de

How does signalling control cortical tension? Using optogenetics and AFM, we show that myosin recruitment and cortical tension increase proportionally with RhoA signalling. More here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Super work by Pierre Bohec with Guillaume Salbreux and @dianakhorom.bsky.social

New preprint out! We use optogenetics, AFM, and active surface modelling to link signalling ⚡ → mechanics ⚙️ → cell shape 🔵

Looking forward to an exciting @sfb1348.bsky.social seminar with Lucia Baldauf @ucl.ac.uk on January 8, 2026. She will speak about "Illuminating Forces in Living Tissues". More info: www.uni-muenster.de/SFB1348/en/i... Everyone's welcome!

My lab is hiring a postdoc (ERC funded)! If you're interested, get in touch!

🚨 PhD Position Available 🚨 I’m recruiting a PhD student to join my lab at the Multiscale Imaging Centre (MIC), Münster, Germany. www.bischofflab.com/jobs Fully funded ✅ #Cellbio #Morphogenesis #Microscopy #Drosophila #PhD (Details Below) Original Posting: stellen.uni-muenster.de/jobposting/d...

#LivingArchitectures We put cells and cytoskeleton filaments on the architecture of the musée d'Orsay. www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/agenda/ev... Scientists of the #CytoMorphoLab adapted their protocols to illustrate the questions that keep them awake at night. -> Two shows on the 24th and 25th of January.

📢Internships on cellular nematics! 🔬Come for the pretty images, stay for the cool physics: each project combines in vitro experiments with advanced microscopy and image analysis. 📧Feel free to DM or email me with any questions.

2/2 If you’re into #cellbio, cellular interfaces, #mechanobiology, #membranes, anything related, come to Münster, Germany, May 27–29! www.uni-muenster.de/SFB1348/en/i... Please spread the word. It’s a fantastic (and FREE!) meeting. And while you’re here, explore Münster… it’s worth it. #Science

🧪 Geometry beats chemistry: we show that self-assembly can be controlled by tuning large-scale geometric parameters rather than molecular binding energies. PNAS: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... Video summary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FS3... #SelfAssembly #Biophysics #PhysicsOfLife

Große Freude! Die @dfg.de richtet einen neuen Sonderforschungsbereich zur männlichen Unfruchtbarkeit ein und verlängert den etablierten Verbund @sfb1348.bsky.social. Insgesamt fließen rund 24 Millionen Euro an die Universität Münster.

Dynamic cellular interfaces reloaded!🎉 Happy and excited to receive extended funding @sfb1348.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de @mpi-muenster.bsky.social and to push our collaborative science forward in the next 4 years! Big thanks @dfg.de, reviewers, and everyone else involved for the continued support!

In Münster, der Stadt des Westfälischen Friedens, haben sich die Physikalischen Gesellschaften von Japan und Deutschland im Quantenjahr 2025 mit einer „Erklärung für die Zukunft“ an die Öffentlichkeit gewandt. Die Physiker warnen eindringlich vor einer nuklearen Aufrüstung. @dpgphysik.bsky.social

Microfluidic pumping with active nematics! Self-organized and self-sustained. No external pumps. @pnas.org @ub.edu www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #ActiveMatter #Microfluidics #SoftMatter

🚨 Soon at 15:30 EU (in 1h), Guillaume Salbreux (Geneva University) will present the talk From active surfaces to evo-devo-mechanobiology at the Population Dynamics Seminars. sites.google.com/view/popdyn/

Job Alert! The Institute for Neuro- and Behavioural Biology at the Faculty of Biology @uni-muenster.de invites applications for a Full Professorship (W3) in “Systems Neuroscience” - Highly attractive research environment at the Multiscale Imaging Center. Apply by January 5th. See shorturl.at/VczFp

Excited to embark on this scientific journey with Ewa Paluch and Daniel StJohnston to understand fundamentals of epithelial tissue and cell shapes! Thank you to @erc.europa.eu for the support!

Mark your calendars! The next SFB 1348 International Meeting will take place in #Münster from May 27-29, 2026, with a focus on #Mechanochemical signals at cellular interfaces. Stay tuned for more details and updates at www.uni-muenster.de/SFB1348/en/m...

New research from EMBL scientists is shedding light on how shape transitions help tissue boundaries form during development. The results reveal a new class of adaptive material dynamics & could provide design principles for smart materials that respond to changing environments.

Can pressure gradients persist over long timescales in animal cells? We induced intracellular pressure gradients and examined the resulting flows in single cells. We reveal surprisingly long lasting pressure gradients. More here: elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...

Fresh from the press💥 We asked what happens when you evolve gene regulatory networks computationally at scale. Do general principles of GRN evolution jump out? Is the process predictable? Read on to find out @prxlife.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk @ucl-ipls.bsky.social 👉 journals.aps.org/prxlife/abst...

📣 New preprint: Mechanochemical feedback, tissue geometry & rigid-body dynamics initiate rotational migration in Drosophila via spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. A mechanism generalizable to closed epithelia. @sreejithsanthosh.bsky.social biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

We only had a very minor contribution to this story with Alexis, but definitly worth a reading for those interested by patterning, precision and refinment. Nice combining of quantitative live imaging, modeling and optogenetics to dissect vein patterning dynamics www.cell.com/developmenta...

My lab @mpi-muenster.bsky.social is looking for a computational biologist with a passion for imaging and spatial biology. A staff scientist position with long-term perspective! Apply and spread the word 🙏 jobs.mpi-muenster.mpg.de/jobposting/0...

The 19th International CiM-IMPRS Graduate School Meeting is almost here! 🚀Ready to connect minds, spark ideas, and push the boundaries of science together?🔬💡 🔗 Save the date for three days of science, ideas & collaboration. 💭 Can we look forward to seeing you in Münster? #GSM25CiMIMPRS #CiMIMPRS2025

🔬 Speakers: CarenNorden nordenlab.bsky.social and Carl Modes @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social and zenahadjivasiliou.bsky.social Yonit Maroudas-Sacks and Marko Popović Vasudha Srivastava and Asa Kalish www.isscr.org/upcoming-pro... #ISSCR #StemCells #Biophysics #Mechanobiology #ScienceSpotlight

Everything (and more) you wanted to know about Nodal Signaling. A Paradigm for TGFβ Signaling in Embryonic Development | Annual Reviews - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Thrilled to bits to see our latest work online in Dev Cell! 🥳 We wanted to know how cells build functional organs with precision🫀🫁📏 Here we show how coupling of cell shape and organ function fine tunes the form and contractile power of the developing #zebrafish heart 1/n tinyurl.com/cell-stretch

Our study on endothelial mechanics made the news! 🤩 Super nice and clear article on our findings and their implications. www.snexplores.org/article/how-...

Hi I’m @yamini-ravichan.bsky.social , a postdoc interested in the mechanical induction of topological defect-mediated morphogenesis. I use different organisms to study the role of topological defects shaping development & regeneration. Below is an insight to the field!

Pls spread the word! We have a postdoc position available in the Rocha Lab @mpi-muenster.bsky.social. Join our team to study mechanisms underlying robust organ development using zebrafish embryos and human organoids. mpi-muenster.mpg.de/career

June in preprints 📃 We've trawled through the latest #preprints in #DevBio, #StemCells and related fields, and here's a list of what we found: thenode.biologists.com/june-in-prep... Congrats to everyone involved! As usual, if we've missed anything, let us know.