“…Prof. Massimo Vassalli – a theoretical physicist who made the transition to biophysics to study cell-based mechanobiology (Vassalli 2021 ). Of the ten scientific articles published in this issue, I have chosen just four to highlight with these concerning the computer simulation of ionic liquid solvents, published by a group from Italy (Le Donne and Bodo 2021 ); a review article discussing membrane-directed mechanisms for generating cell polarization, by a group from Germany and Japan (Sackmann and Tanaka 2021 ); a review article exploring the role of piezoelectric mechanisms in synovial cartilage for generation of an electrical potential upon deformation, by a group composed of members from Ireland, the UK, and the Netherlands (Poillot et al 2021 ); and finally, a review article on the production of neural circuits using neurons by a group based in Australia (Daria et al 2021 ).…”