Using the amphibian Xenopus laevis as a model, Drs. Noriyuki Kinoshita and Naoto Ueno from the National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB), Japan and Dr. Ileana Cristea from Princeton University, USA have demonstrated that physical forces, such as centrifugal force, enhance cell-to-cell attachment and increase the stiffness of embryonic tissues as a result of force induced cell shape change. In addition, they have also elucidated a part of the signaling pathway underlying the phenomenon. This work revealing how physical forces build-up the structurally robust and stable embryonic tissue architectures during development was published online in the March 17 edition of Cell Reports.