Cells are liquids – but behave like solids
Scientists at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have revealed that, counter to previous understanding, the living cells in our bodies behave like solids rather than the liquids they are made of.
IBEC group leader and ICREA research professor Xavier Trepat, who led the research, describes the discovery as ‘truly counter-intuitive’. “It means we need brand new laws of physics to understand what ingredients a fluid needs to behave as a solid,” he says.