This book is essential reading for those interested in understanding current research trends in biomechanics at micro- and nanoscale levels. It details the research carried out to date in this field by fourteen prominent researchers as part of a four-year government supported project which commenced in 2003. The coverage includes four broad areas: cell mechanics, cell response to mechanical stimulation, tissue engineering, and computational biomechanics. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: Heterogeneous Expression of the Motor Protein Prestin of Cochlear Outer Hair Cells (734 KB). Contents: Heterogeneous Expression of the Motor Protein Prestin of Cochlear Outer Hair Cells (H Wada et al.); Effects of Actin Filaments on Anisotropy and Stiffness of Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells (T Matsumoto & K Nagayama); Micro-Vessel Network Formation of Endothelial Cells with in Vitro Three Dimensional Model (K Tanishita et al.); Time-Dependent Mechanical Behaviors of Articular Cartilage and Chondrocytes Under Constant Total Compressive Deformation (T Murakami et al.); Threshold Fiber Strain That Induces Reorganization of Cytoskeletal Actin Structure in Osteoblastic Cells (T Adachi & K Sato); Morphology of Endothelical Cells in Response to Hydrostatic Pressure (M Sato); Mechanosensing in Intestinal Villi: ATP Signaling in Subepithelial Fibroblasts Network (K Furuya et al.); Microelements for Cartilage Tissue Engineering (K Tsuchiya et al.); Interrelationship Between Water Filtration Velocity and the Thicknesss of Pseudointima Formed at the Wall of Artificial Vascular Grafts Implanted in the Dog Common Carotid Artery (T Karino et al.); Strengthening of Fibrous Tissues Under Mechanical Stimuli (K Takakuda); Assessment of Cortical Bone Microstructure Using Monochromatic Synchrotron Radiation Micro-CT (T Matsumoto et al.); Study on Particle Presentations of Blood Cells and the

Plasma in Microvascular Blood Flow (T Yamaguchi et al.); Brief Reviews of Mechanical Models of Skeletal Muscle and Formulation of a Muscle Model Taking into Acount Microstructure and Damage (E Tanaka & D Ito); Numerical Stimulation of the Effects of Actin Binding and Cellular Deformation on the Orientation of Actin Stress Fibers Under Cyclic Stretch (H Yamada et al.). Readership: Engineers, physiologists, biologists and medical doctors interested in biomechanics; graduate students.