Helix 8 - Putting a spring in mechano-sensing.

•The ability to sense mechanical stimuli is a well-established feature of a number of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).•The underlying structural components are unclear.•A recent paper provides compelling evidence for essential involvement of the GPCR helix 8 motif in this process.•This paper represents a significant and critical increase in our understanding how mechanical stimuli are sensed by GPCRs.