Stranger than Friction: A Force Initiating Life

Scientists examine how friction forces propel development in a marine organism. Formation of the contraction pole. Microscopic time-lapse of cell shape changes in ascidian oocytes after fertilization: From an unfertilized egg (first image from the left) to contraction pole initiation (2 nd and 3 rd images from the left) and contraction pole formation (4 th image from left). Caballero-Mancebo et al./Nature Physics As the potter works the spinning wheel, the friction between their hands and the soft clay helps them shape it into all kinds of forms and creations. In a fascinating parallel, sea squirt oocytes (immature egg cells) harness friction within various compartments in their interior to undergo developmental changes after conception. A study from the Heisenberg group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), published in Nature Physics , now describes how this works. The sea is full of fascinating life forms.