01064nas a2200109   4500008004100000245002900041210002900070260001000099520079300109100001600902856003600918       2013                        en  d00aSoftly Constrained Films0 aSoftly Constrained Films  bSISSA3 aThe shape of materials is often subject to a number of geometric constraints\r\nthat limit the size of the system or fix the structure of its boundary. In soft\r\nand biological materials, however, these constraints are not always hard, but\r\nare due to other physical mechanisms that affect the overall force balance. A\r\ncapillary film spanning a flexible piece of wire or a cell anchored to a\r\ncompliant substrate by mean of adhesive contacts are examples of these softly\r\nconstrained systems in the macroscopic and microscopic world. In this article I\r\nreview some of the important mathematical and physical developments that\r\ncontributed to our understanding of shape formation in softly constrained films\r\nand their recent application to the mechanics of adherent cells.1 aGiomi, Luca  uhttp://hdl.handle.net/1963/6563