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    Cancer cells are defined by their ability to invade through the basement membrane, a critical step during metastasis. While increased secretion of proteases, which facilitates degradation of the basement membrane, and alterations in the cytoskeletal architecture of cancer cells have been previously studied, the contribution of the mechanical properties of cells in invasion is unclear. Here, we applied a magnetic tweezer system to establish that stiffness of patient tumor cells and cancer cell lines inversely correlates with migration and invasion through three-dimensional basement membranes, a correlation known as a power law. We found that cancer cells with the highest migratory and invasive potential are five times less stiff than cells with the lowest migration and invasion potential. Moreover, decreasing cell stiffness by pharmacologic inhibition of myosin II increases invasiveness, whereas increasing cell stiffness by restoring expression of the metastasis suppressor T?RIII/betaglycan decreases invasiveness. These findings are the first demonstration of the power-law relation between the stiffness and the invasiveness of cancer cells and show that mechanical phenotypes can be used to grade the metastatic potential of cell populations with the potential for single cell grading. The measurement of a mechanical phenotype, taking minutes rather than hours needed for invasion assays, is promising as a quantitative diagnostic method and as a discovery tool for therapeutics. By showing that altering stiffness predictably alters invasiveness, our results indicate that pathways regulating these mechanical phenotypes are novel targets for molecular therapy of cancer. Cancer Res; 71(15); 5075–80. ©2011 AACR. cancerres.aacrjournals.org


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    Newly-found nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical and thermal properties have recently been synthesized in Iran's Islamic Azad University. www.nanotech-now.com


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    CAD Engineer - SolidWords, MACD systems. An international medical devices organisation have an outstanding permanent vacancy for an experienced CAD Engineer, who will be able to operate the company's 'SolidWorks' 'MCAD system particularly in relation^to the use of part, sheetmetal, assembly and drafting applications for mechanical product design activities. You will be a member of a team providing Mechanical CAD support to the product design and development teams and have responsibility for theproduction of PDD project related 3D CAD models and engineering drawings. Qualified to degree/HNC level in mechanical engineering or equivalent you will be able to demonstrate a high level of experience of CAD design within a product design office. Ideally you will have previous experience within the medical devices sector. The role offers an excellent package plus benefits. If you do not hear back from us within 5 working days of your application for this role, it means that on this occasion you have not been shortlisted for the next stage of the recruitment campaign. Entitlement to work in the EEA is essential. Please quote reference SH20966 in all correspondence. CK Science is the largest independent scientific recruitment company in the UK. Our team of specialist recruiters are here to help you achieve your career ambitions within the scientific industry. We actively offer you careers advice, help with writing your CV, assistance with interview preparation and up-to-date^information about the industry. We pride ourselves on providing an honest, straight-forward and trustworthy service to both our clients and candidates. Please visit our website at www.ckscience.co.uk. You can also follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Keywords: CAD, Solidworks, mechanical engineer, engineering recruitment.
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    SCHOOL OF AEROSPACE, MECHANICAL AND MECHATRONIC ENGINEERING REFERENCE NO. 2697/0910 • Expertise with TEM required • Cutting edge research • Work with internationally renowned academics The University of Sydney is Australia’s premier University with an outstanding global reputation for academic and research excellence, and employs over 6,800 permanent staff supporting over 46,000 students. The School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at the University of Sydn…
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