<p>Nature Communications, Published online: 15 March 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-70765-w">doi:10.1038/s41467-026-70765-w</a></p>Engineering synthetic mechanosensing systems with both cell-specificity and programmability remains challenging, especially for classical mechanoreceptors. Here, the authors develop an all-DNA mechanosensing platform based on aptamers that transmit force through noncanonical surface receptors.