As researchers probe deeper into cell physiology, they are increasingly bumping into cells’ individual personalities. Identical genetic material and location, it seems, doesn’t prevent two cells from behaving differently, and in some cases this intercellular variation changes cell function and fate. Fluctuations within individual cells may even underlie cancer or neurological disease.
DNA microarrays, mainstays in assessing gene expression, aren’t sensitive enough to detect these individual-level differences, says Sunney Xie, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University and an early pioneer of single-cell techniques. But picking out RNAs or proteins present in low numbers within a single cell is easier said than done. And exploring forces such as tension and movement at a single-cell scale can be a Herculean task requiring collaborations between physicists, engineers, and biologists.
Here, The Scientist profiles researchers developing applications to measure activity within single cells with newfound precision.
DEVELOPER
Stephen Quake, Professor ...
