Mechanical control of human embryonic mesoderm fate via β-catenin is conserved with other metazoans.

In this issue of Developmental Cell, Ayad et al.1 show that mesoderm specification in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can be induced by mechanical strain in a Y654-β-catenin-dependent mechanotransduction purpose. This feature is conserved with mechanical induction of endomesoderm specification by gastrulation in metazoan representatives of other superphyla.