When UC Santa Barbara materials scientist Omar Saleh and graduate student Ian Morgan sought to understand the mechanical behaviors of disordered proteins in the lab, they expected that after being stretched, one particular model protein would snap back instantaneously, like a rubber band.

Instead, this disordered protein relaxed slowly, taking tens of minutes to relax into its original shape — a behavior that defied expectations, and hinted at an inner structure that was long thought to exist, but has been difficult to prove.

UCSB researchers create a device to help understand how cells communicate to form tissues and maintain integrity under loading.

Time-lapse of epithelial cells moving in response to shear force

As cells divide to form tissues and organs in multicell organisms, they move to where they belong, informed by a series of cues that scientists have yet to observe or fully understand.