Hirotaka Tao

Large-scale dimensional behavioral profiling dissociates fear memory from locomotor confounds in mice: The necessity of baseline-normalized metrics

The paper demonstrates that baseline-normalized metrics are essential for accurately interpreting fear memory in mice, showing that conventional freezing scores confound locomotor activity.

Durotaxis bridges phase transition as a function of tissue stiffness in vivo

The paper shows that fibronectin-dependent tissue stiffness controls durotaxis and cell rearrangements through a phase transition model in mouse limb bud mesoderm.

Fluctuations and entropy enable neural crest cell ingression

The paper shows that stochastic fluctuations and entropy, not stiffness gradients, drive neural crest cell ingression in mice.

Patterning the embryonic pulmonary mesenchyme

This study uses single-cell RNA-sequencing to show that pulmonary mesenchyme in embryonic mouse lungs lacks distinct progenitors and instead forms a continuum of cell identities regulated by Wnt signaling.

Three-dimensional tissue stiffness mapping in the mouse embryo supports durotaxis during early limb bud morphogenesis

The paper introduces a 3D magnetic device to measure tissue stiffness in mouse embryos, revealing an anterior stiffness gradient that guides cell movement during limb bud development.

Oscillatory cortical forces promote three dimensional cell intercalations that shape the mandibular arch

The paper shows that oscillatory cortical forces drive 3D cell intercalations in the mouse mandibular arch, shaping embryonic structures through Wnt5a, YAP/TAZ, and PIEZO1.