Zebrafish embryo's cells can move in one direction by creating their own gradient: Study has possible implications for cancer and metastasis

Migrating cells, it seems, cover their tracks not for fear of being followed, but to keep moving forward. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have now shown that cells in a zebrafish embryo determine which direction they move in by effectively erasing the path behind them. The findings, published online in Nature, could have implications not just for development but also for cancer and metastasis. As a zebrafish embryo develops, a group of cells migrate down the side of its body, leaving clumps of cells along the way...