Coordinated changes of cell shape are often the result of the excitable, wave-like dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton. New work shows that, in migrating cells, protrusion waves arise from mechanochemical crosstalk between adhesion sites, membrane tension and the actin protrusive machinery.

We investigated the use of mechanical stress to bend carbon-carbon triple bonds. Formation of an isoquinoline after reaction with a benzyl azide trap points towards a nucleophilic addition mechanism, differentiating mechanochemical trans-bending of π bonds from the typical reactivity observed for cisoidal bending of triple bonds in strained cyclic alkynes.

Mechanochemical dry conversion that only uses zinc oxide and an imidazole ligand proved to be effective and reliable for fabrication of a zeolitic imidazolate framework with a polycrystalline grain boundary and a core-shell structure. The zinc oxide crystals are converted into a zeolitic imidazolate framework to a depth of approx. 10 nm below the surface.