There are thousands of scientific papers dedicated to a particular type of tumor, a particular gene, a type of specific molecular lesion or the effect of a particular drug. However, there are very few examples of publications that integrate these four concepts (type of tumor, gene alteration and drug) in a significant amount of samples. An article published in Cell, in collaboration with the group of Dr. Manel Esteller, Director of the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Program at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), ICREA researcher and Professor of Genetics at the University of Barcelona, provides us with this important source of information.

Flow map in the third ventricle of the mouse brain. We have all bumped our heads at some point, and such incidents are usually harmless. This is thanks to fluid-filled chambers in our brain that offset minor knocks and jolts and provide padding for sensitive components of our nervous system. Cerebral fluid, however, has more than just a protective function: It removes cellular waste, supplies our nervous tissue with nutrients, and transports important messenger substances. How these messenger substances are actually being delivered to their destination in the brain, however, was unclear until now. Göttingen-based Max Planck researchers have now discovered that tiny cilia on the surface of specialized cells could lead the way. Through synchronized beating movements, they create a complex network of dynamic flows that act like conveyor belts transporting molecular "freight". The results obtained by the scientists suggest that these flows send messenger substances directly to where they are needed.

When cells die, whether through apoptosis or necrosis, the DNA and other molecules found in those cells don't just disappear. They wind up in the blood stream, where degraded bits and pieces can be extracted.

The green-labelled cells show a basal cell carcinoma in mouse tail epidermis derived from a single mutant stem cell and expanding out of the normal epidermis stained in red. Scientists have identified for the first time the 'cell of origin' - in other words, the first cell from which the cancer grows - in basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, and followed the chain of events that lead to the growth of these invasive tumours.