http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – In a variety of situations in living organisms, cells interact with their environment by generating traction forces. For example, muscle contractility (cardiac, skeletal and smooth muscles), ECs and permeability, stem cell differentiation might correlate with contractility (maybe…Engler). There are currently few methods by which one can measure the traction forces in a quantitative way, especially on the single-cell level; the most common method by which to study cells in vitro has been to use a polystyrene dish. Read more »