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Topic · Cell Biology

Cellular Mechanics and Interactions

Cellular Mechanics and Interactions is a research topic within Cell Biology. Science Explorer counts 38k research works in it since 1950. 9.8% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the interaction between cells and the extracellular matrix, with an emphasis on cell mechanics, mechanotransduction, and the role of matrix stiffness in regulating stem cell behavior, tissue engineering, and cancer progression.

  • Extracellular Matrix
  • Cell Mechanics
  • Mechanotransduction
  • Stem Cells
  • Cytoskeleton
  • Tissue Engineering
  • Cell Migration
  • Matrix Stiffness
  • Biomechanics
  • Cancer Progression
Research works
38k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
3.7k
per year above
Top-10% rate
9.8%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
-7%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
35% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Cellular Mechanics and Interactions

Which countries lead Cellular Mechanics and Interactions research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (1.6k and 1.1k works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 1.6k works
  2. 2 China 1.1k works
  3. 3 Germany 399 works
  4. 4 Japan 362 works
  5. 5 France 317 works
  6. 6 United Kingdom 311 works
  7. 7 Italy 177 works
  8. 8 India 174 works
  9. 9 Canada 135 works
  10. 10 Spain 123 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 34.7%China: 23.0%Germany: 8.4%Japan: 7.7%6 others listed: 26.2%35%largest
United States1,643 · 34.7%China1,087 · 23.0%Germany399 · 8.4%Japan362 · 7.7%6 others listed1,237 · 26.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Cellular Mechanics and Interactions research?

By volume in 2022-now, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique publishes the most Cellular Mechanics and Interactions research, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Max Planck Society.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 134 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 51 works
  3. 3 Max Planck SocietyGermany 47 works
  4. 4 Harvard UniversityUnited States 43 works
  5. 5 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 39 works
  6. 6 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 39 works
  7. 7 Johns Hopkins UniversityUnited States 37 works
  8. 8 University of PennsylvaniaUnited States 36 works
  9. 9 Sichuan UniversityChina 33 works
  10. 10 Stanford UniversityUnited States 32 works

Who are the leading researchers in Cellular Mechanics and Interactions?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Cellular Mechanics and Interactions include Zhong Lin Wang, Matthias Mann and Róbert Langer.

  1. 1 Zhong Lin Wang United States 491k citations
  2. 2 Matthias Mann Germany 308k citations
  3. 3 Róbert Langer United States 303k citations
  4. 4 Robert A. Weinberg United States 301k citations
  5. 5 John Q. Trojanowski United States 286k citations
  6. 6 Todd R. Golub United States 283k citations
  7. 7 Michael Karin United States 276k citations
  8. 8 George M. Whitesides United States 267k citations
  9. 9 Gordon Brent Mills United States 265k citations
  10. 10 Yi Ping Cui United States 261k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Cellular Mechanics and Interactions?

The most cited paper in Cellular Mechanics and Interactions is "Matrix Elasticity Directs Stem Cell Lineage Specification" (Adam Jeffrey Engler, Shamik Sen, Hugh Lee Sweeney et al., 2006), with 13,994 citations. Next come "Molecular Mechanisms of Stress-Responsive Changes in Collagen and Elastin Networks in Skin" (7,308) and "Tissue Cells Feel and Respond to the Stiffness of Their Substrate" (6,452).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Matrix Elasticity Directs Stem Cell Lineage Specification Adam Jeffrey Engler, Shamik Sen, Hugh Lee Sweeney et al. · Cell Open access Aug 2006 13,994
2 Molecular Mechanisms of Stress-Responsive Changes in Collagen and Elastin Networks in Skin Jazli Aziz, Hafiz Shezali, Zamri Radzi et al. · Skin Pharmacology and Physiology 2016 7,308
3 Tissue Cells Feel and Respond to the Stiffness of Their Substrate Dennis E. Discher, Paul A. Janmey, Yu-Li Wang · Science 18 Nov 2005 6,452
4 Rho GTPases and the Actin Cytoskeleton Alan K. Hall · Science 23 Jan 1998 6,198
5 Role of YAP/TAZ in mechanotransduction Sirio Dupont, Leonardo Morsut, Mariaceleste Aragona et al. · Nature Open access Jun 2011 6,136
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Cellular Mechanics and Interactions research done?

The largest centres of Cellular Mechanics and Interactions research in 2022-now are Paris (France), Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan) and Shanghai (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Dresden and Leipzig.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 ParisFrance 175 works
  2. 2 BeijingChina 163 works
  3. 3 TokyoJapan 103 works
  4. 4 ShanghaiChina 97 works
  5. 5 LondonUnited Kingdom 92 works
  6. 6 New YorkUnited States 68 works
  7. 7 GuangzhouChina 61 works
  8. 8 PhiladelphiaUnited States 60 works
  9. 9 Xi'anChina 60 works
  10. 10 SeoulSouth Korea 55 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. DresdenDE · 38.7 works7.9×
  2. LeipzigDE · 20.4 works5.7×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Cellular Mechanics and Interactions than the world average.

See Cellular Mechanics and Interactions on the map

Where is the best place to study Cellular Mechanics and Interactions?

Among universities, judged by research, Sichuan University, Harvard University and Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%30%mean 17.51%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Sichuan UniversityBarcelona Institute …Shanghai Jiao Tong U…Harvard University
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Sichuan UniversityChina 78.726.7%2.9×33 +80.7%
2Harvard UniversityUnited States 71.118.2%2.6×43 -24.9%
3Barcelona Institute of Science and TechnologySpain 69.419.6%48.9×9 +19.3%
4Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 68.618.7%2.7×39 +67.8%
5University of PennsylvaniaUnited States 67.415.6%6.8×36 -16.8%
6Stanford UniversityUnited States 66.519.3%4.3×32 -31.3%
7Yale UniversityUnited States 65.113.6%5.9×32 -3.3%
8ETH ZurichSwitzerland 64.317.3%5.7×20 +5.6%
9National University of SingaporeSingapore 61.113.4%4.7×28 -4.1%
10Johns Hopkins UniversityUnited States 60.412.7%4.8×37 -17.1%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Cellular Mechanics and Interactions, country by country

Is Cellular Mechanics and Interactions research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 7% lower than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2020.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Cellular Mechanics and Interactions as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.022% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%0.060%Cellular Mechanics and Interactions0.022% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Cellular Mechanics and Interactions over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Cellular Mechanics and Interactions10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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