#OPENACCESS: Cells don’t just communicate through calcium waves; nematic cell alignment shapes how information propagates. Winterstrain et al. show that nematic defects can desynchronize signaling, with calcium waves traveling fastest when perpendicular to tissue orientation.
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Tissues rely on supracellular signals to coordinate their cells over a long range. Two such tissue-scale cues are calcium waves and patterns of cell-cell alignment or nematic order. During wound…
