In the context of physical systems, tissues are hierarchically organized assemblies of cells and extracellular matrix that exhibit emergent mechanical, transport, and signaling properties distinct from those of their individual components. They function as active, viscoelastic materials capable of growth, remodeling, force generation, and collective migration, governed by mechano-chemical feedback and spatial patterning. Tissue-level behavior arises from cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions, including adhesion, cytoskeletal dynamics, and morphogen gradients, and can be modeled using continuum mechanics, active matter frameworks, or agent-based approaches to capture processes such as morphogenesis, homeostasis, and mechanotransduction in developmental and physiological systems.
An international team, including the University of Tokyo, has created a sensor inspired by the lateral line in fish—their "sixth sense" organ—which measures the pulse of lab-grown 3D heart tissue (cardiac organoids). The ...
Biotechnology
Jul 5, 2026
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16
One of the most striking biological transitions in nature happens early in development, when an embryo transforms from a simple ball of cells into a highly ordered structure with distinct tissue layers that later develop ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 30, 2026
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28
Researchers have produced the most detailed map yet of how stem cells in the growing tip of a plant begin their journey to form the many cell types that shape flowers and stems. They identified 18 distinct cell type clusters ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 19, 2026
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14
Many animals, including humans, rely on their eyes to detect changes in their surroundings. The eyes of vertebrates, animals with a backbone or a similar supporting structure, contain a transparent structure (i.e., the lens) ...
Embryonic development is one of the most dynamic biological processes in nature. Cells and tissues organize and reorganize themselves following incredibly precise patterns, while remaining flexible and robust. Scientists ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 2, 2026
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10
How did life make the leap from single cells to coordinated, multicellular organisms? And how do genetically identical cells still perform a version of that feat every time an embryo begins to take shape?
Evolution
Jun 2, 2026
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114
A team of Israeli scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed a novel method to significantly lower the production costs of cultivated meat. The new study demonstrates that preloading plant-derived cellulose ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 2, 2026
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16
From the revived corpse of Frankenstein's monster to the disembodied hand, "Thing," in the Addams Family, reanimated tissue is one of the most enduring images in science fiction. It turns out, that image has some basis in ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 27, 2026
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487
A core challenge in biology is understanding how processes in the body, such as cellular development and regeneration, unfold over long stretches of time, making them notoriously difficult to view at the molecular level. ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 27, 2026
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23
Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered that cancer cells do not simply push through surrounding tissues to spread, but instead actively grip onto protective tissue barriers and pull them ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 12, 2026
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