Cells seeking paths through the body’s tangle of tissues might adapt the navigational strategy of Hansel and Gretel. In the Brothers Grimm tale, the lost kids dropped pebbles and bread crumbs along a wooded trail to help lead them back out of a freaky forest.
Instead of using markers telling them where to go, though, cells might leave behind repellent molecules telling them where not to go.
In a new study, scientists suggest these markers help trailblazing cells move away from areas where they’ve gotten stuck, such as confusing dead ends and tricky corners.
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