Fluctuations can induce local nematic order and extensile stress in monolayers of motile cells
Fluctuations can induce local nematic order and extensile stress in monolayers of motile cells
Recent experiments in various cell types have shown that two-dimensional tissues often display local nematic order, with evidence of extensile stresses manifest in the dynamics of topological defects. Using a mesoscopic model where tissue flow is generated by fluctuating traction forces coupled to the nematic order parameter, we show that …