Extended Data Fig. 3. Fibroblasts behave as a 2D contractile active nematic.

a) Average yy- and xy-components of strain rate map around +1/2 defect obtained from experiments (left and middle respectively) and corresponding average flow field (right) (n = 1489 defects from 2 independent experiments) for NIH3T3 cells. Colour code is positive for stretching and negative for shrinkage. b) Average yy (left)-, xy (middle)- and isotropic (right) components of stress around a +1/2 defect obtained from experiments for NIH3T3 (n = 1,428 defects from 2 independent experiments).