Control and IPF primary lung fibroblasts were cultured on fibronectin-coated glass (elastic/Young’s modulo in the GPa range) or hydrogel substrates of discrete stiffness, spanning the range of normal (1.5 kPa) and fibrotic (28 kPa) lung tissue (Booth et al., 2012). The gene discussed is FN1; the disease is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.