Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) study how mechanical properties guide cell sorting, aggregation, and tissue organization during early embryonic development.
In this interview, Gabby Krens from the lab of Prof. Carl-Philipp Heisenberg explains how micro-scale mechanical testing is used to measure the surface tension and viscoelastic behavior of zebrafish embryo cell aggregates. By compressing spherical tissue aggregates and measuring force relaxation, the team quantifies physical properties that influence tissue rearrangement and differentiation over time.
This work highlights how mechanical measurements complement imaging and molecular biology approaches in developmental biology and mechanobiology research.
