Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Cell mechanics is a sub-field of biophysics that focuses on the mechanical properties and behavior of living cells and how it relates to cell function. [1] It encompasses aspects of cell biophysics , biomechanics , soft matter physics and rheology , mechanobiology and cell biology .
By studying these mechanical properties, greater insight will be gained in regards to disease. Thus, the goal of understanding cell biomechanics is to combine theoretical, experimental, and computational approaches to construct a realistic description of cell mechanical behaviors to provide new insights on the role of mechanics in disease. [2]
Cell biophysics (or cellular biophysics) is a sub-field of biophysics that focuses on physical principles underlying cell function. Sub-areas of current interest include statistical models of intracellular signaling dynamics, intracellular transport, cell mechanics (including membrane and cytoskeletal mechanics), molecular motors, biological electricity and genetic network theory.
Page of one of the first works of Biomechanics (De Motu Animalium of Giovanni Alfonso Borelli) in the 17th centuryBiomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, [1] using the methods of mechanics. [2]
While medicine has typically looked for the genetic and biochemical basis of disease, advances in mechanobiology suggest that changes in cell mechanics, extracellular matrix structure, or mechanotransduction may contribute to the development of many diseases, including atherosclerosis, fibrosis, asthma, osteoporosis, heart failure, and cancer.
The network influences cell mechanics and dynamics by differentially polymerizing and depolymerizing its constituent filaments (primarily actin and myosin, but microtubules and intermediate filaments also play a role). [49] This generates forces, which play an important role in informing the cell of its microenvironment.
In cell biology, the spindle apparatus is the cytoskeletal structure of eukaryotic cells that forms during cell division to separate sister chromatids between daughter cells. It is referred to as the mitotic spindle during mitosis , a process that produces genetically identical daughter cells, or the meiotic spindle during meiosis , a process ...
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all forms of life. Every cell consists of cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane; many cells contain organelles, each with a specific function. The term comes from the Latin word cellula meaning 'small room'. Most cells are only visible under a microscope.