The physics of sculpting a living creature

TL;DR - Advanced methods now allow cell biologists to observe and manipulate mechanical forces in living systems in real time. These capabilities could clarify how tension and compression shape tissue differentiation and organismal development.

• Mechanical forces are established regulators of tissue differentiation.
• New techniques can measure these forces dynamically in living systems.
• Researchers can increasingly perturb forces while observing biological responses.
• The provided summary does not specify particular methods or experimental results.