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Uncovering previously unrecognized functions of mechanical force
in extracellular matrix remodeling.  The stiff, the hard, and
the brittle are harbingers of death. – Tao Te Ching trans. Stan
Rosenthal  The benefits of flexibility, both literal and
metaphorical, have been recognized for over 2,500 years. The
material properties of our own bodies is governed largely by the
extracellular matrix, a complex protein and carbohydrate network
that gives shape to tissues and organs. Previously, the ECM was
dismissed as passive glue that simply held cells together. We
now know that failure to maintain the ECM leads not only to
aching knees and wrinkles, but also to atherosclerosis,
aneurism, and other cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, the
key step in cancer metastasis is the dissolution of the local
ECM so that the cancer cells can escape to colonize the rest of
the body.  We are using techniqu