# Measuring forces and stresses in situ in living tissues

## TL;DR

This paper reviews new techniques for measuring forces and stresses in living tissues, which could improve our understanding of developmental biology.

## Contribution

The paper provides a review of emerging methods for in situ force and stress measurement in living tissues.

## Key findings

- Live imaging and rheology are established methods for mechanical measurements in tissues.
- Emerging techniques for measuring forces and stresses at multiple scales are being developed.
- These new methods are expected to significantly impact developmental biology research.

## Abstract

In living tissues, genetics and mechanics interact, especially during morphogenesis. Two main classes of mechanical measurements are already established: live imaging helps quantifying tissue deformation, cell-level dynamics, and protein distributions; cell or tissue rheology yields access to material properties such as elastic stiffness and viscosity. The third one, measuring forces and stresses in situ at scales ranging from molecule to cell and to tissue, involves different challenges. We review several emerging techniques, their fields of applications, their advantages and limitations, their validations. We argue that they will strongly impact our understanding of developmental biology in the near future.