The latest issue of Integrative Biology is now online, and is a themed issue guest edited by Mina J. Bissell, Cyrus M. Ghajar and Luke P. Lee, entitled ‘From single cells to biology‘.
The inside front cover features an article by Derek C. Radisky and colleagues at the Mayo Clinic, USA, which demonstrates the use of three-dimensional microenvironments to reveal key features of tumor malignancy in lung cancer cells.
Growth of lung cancer cells in three-dimensional microenvironments reveals key features of tumor malignancy
Magdalena A. Cichon, Vladimir G. Gainullin, Ying Zhang and Derek C. Radisky
DOI: 10.1039/C1IB00090J
The issue also features two other HOT articles – a perspective article from Helen M. Blau and co-workers discussing single cell studies of adult stem cell self-renewal, and a research article from Luke P. Lee, Matthias Peter and colleagues featuring an assay platform for quantitative analysis of single cell chemotaxis.
A single cell bioengineering approach to elucidate mechanisms of adult stem cell self-renewal
Penney M. Gilbert, Stephane Corbel, Regis Doyonnas, Karen Havenstrite, Klas E. G. Magnusson and Helen M. Blau
DOI: 10.1039/C2IB00148A
Quantitative and dynamic assay of single cell chemotaxis
Sung Sik Lee, Peter Horvath, Serge Pelet, Björn Hegemann, Luke P. Lee and Matthias Peter
DOI: 10.1039/C2IB00144F
Read the rest of the issue online now!
This Perspective from Penney Gilbert and colleagues from the USA and Sweden focuses on adult stem cells found in skeletal muscle, also known as satellite cells. They address the problem that, once extracted from muscle and placed into culture, satellite cells quickly lose their ability to self-renew, complicating studies into their biology. The development of new bioengineering approaches, such as hydrogel microwell arrays, could solve this problem. These approaches can accurately monitor the behaviour of satellite cells and provide robust data sets, thanks to the number of different tests that can be carried out in parallel.
On the cover of 
Proteomics has given scientists new insights into how bacteria infect and colonise the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.
Almost a year has passed since the devastating Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) epidemic in Western Europe and the numbers still make sombre reading. Farmers lost millions of Euros in an outbreak where nearly 4,500 people became infected and more than 50 people lost their lives. Scientists are still learning lessons from the bacterium at the centre of last year’s events, in the hope that, should a similar pathogen threaten human lives again, we will be better equipped to fight it.