= Lung development
<Lung development> builds the conducting <airways> and the thin exchange surface needed for <breathing> after birth. Growth and branching must be coordinated with <cell differentiation>, <blood vessel> development and preparation for air-filled function.
Mechanical conditions are part of the developmental signal. Live imaging and <force> perturbations linked <fetal breathing movements> and fluid loading to differentiation of <type I alveolar cells>, while local growth-factor responses helped other progenitors retain <type II alveolar cell> identity. This connects <cell> shape and <tissue> <forces> to acquisition of gas-exchange function.<The Strength of Mechanical Forces Determines the Differentiation of Alveolar Epithelial Cells by Jiao Li and others>[Abstract, mechanical forces and local growth factors]{ref}
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