Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Feel the Force

Fluorescent sensors used to study the forces at play inside cells

16 September 2018

Feel the Force

Latching on, pulling, stretching and squeezing inside us, cells need to feel the strain in order to survive. Springy 'load-bearing' proteins poke out from their membranes, helping to adjust to hard or soft surroundings. In these mouse cells, fluorescent sensors snoop on this tiny mechanobiology – examining the forces at play on vinculin, a protein involved in anchoring a cell to its environment. As the cells attach to a platform underneath, sensors with different sensitivities (left to right) detect how much the vinculin is pulled about (top row), compared to how much it extends (bottom row) – coloured light acts as a measure, with white light showing the greatest forces. Analysis shows that cellular forces change and adapt to pull vinculin to a specific length – the next job is to see how this works in stiff cancer microenvironments or soft developing tissues.

Written by John Ankers

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.