A Vessel With a New Direction

A Vessel With a New Direction

Jonathan Burden

What you see here are blood vessel cells navigating upwards through a gel. The cells are responding to growth signals, causing them to create branch-like structures and move towards the signal. This mechanism (called angiogenesis) is vital for development and healing wounds, but cancers can exploit it to fuel their own growth. Understanding how tumours communicate with these vessels may help us learn how to stop disease in its tracks.