Physical constraints in cell fate specification. A case in point. Microgravity and phenotypes differentiation
Data obtained by studying mammalian cells in absence of gravity strongly support the notion that cell
fate specification cannot be understood according to the current molecular model. A paradigmatic case in
point is provided by studying cell populations growing in absence of gravity. When the physical
constraint (gravity) is ‘experimentally removed’, cells spontaneously allocate into two morphologically
different phenotypes. Such phenomenon is likely enacted by the intrinsic stochasticity, which, in turn, is