By Optics.org –
A project at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has successfully stimulated stem cells in a manner that reliably induced them to develop into bone cells.
The technology could ultimately lead to ways to generate specific cells for biomedical applications, but is also a new step in the study of how exogenous forces can influence mammalian cell behavior, a complex and challenging topic.
Key cellular components and pathways are known to be involved in a cell’s responses to outside forces, but investigations into these effects with micromanipulation techniques have suffered from a lack of resemblance to the natural microenvironment, commented TUM.
