Measuring tiny forces | Lab Animal

Backholm, M. and Bäumchen, O. _Nat Protoc_ 14, 594–615 (2019) Mechanical forces, if tiny ones, are hard at work in the body of small organisms like _Caenorhabditis elegans_ worms or

microalgae like the flagellated _Chlamydomonas_. Pico-to-millinewton-scale forces govern the dynamics between molecules and cells and are produced as the small creatures move about, but

taking those measurements has been technically challenging. A protocol to do so, originally demonstrated with _Chlamydomonas_ in _Nature Physics_ has now been described in step-by-step

detail in _Nature Protocols_. The researchers use swimming _C. elegans_ as an example application, but the sensor can be used record forces in soft samples that are micro- to millimeters in

size. It involves creating a force sensor from a flexible micropipette and calibrating it with water droplets. Deflections in the micropipette reflect the force being exerted. AUTHOR

INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Lab Animal http://www.nature.com/laban/ Ellen P. Neff Authors * Ellen P. Neff View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed 

Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Ellen P. Neff. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Neff, E.P. Measuring tiny forces.

_Lab Anim_ 48, 83 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-019-0258-1 Download citation * Published: 19 February 2019 * Issue Date: March 2019 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-019-0258-1

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