Get a Wriggle On

Press play on this short video and alien-like blobs crawl across the screen, shot through with green flashes like fairy lights. They are in fact single cells wriggling around on a plastic dish in the lab, revealing important information about the molecules that control how cells move. Cell mobility is essential for many processes of life, including wound healing and fighting infection. The motors that drive this movement are molecules on the surface of cells called integrins (labelled green), which act like tiny ‘hands’ to grab onto their surroundings and pull them along. When they’ve done their job, the integrins get shuttled inside the cell until they’re needed again. By controlling exactly when and where their integrins go, cells can get to the right place at the right time. Learning more about how this works could lead to more effective ways to zip up wounds in the future.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

Writer

Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

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• Martin Humphries
• University of Manchester, UK
• Copyright Elsevier 2013
• Published in Developmental Cell