Advances in technology shed light on cell function

Cells are the basic units of life — but when it comes to cells, if you think basic means simple, think again. Cells are complicated, with many millions of biochemical reactions per second seething within their confines. They also tend to be tiny, so it’s not easy to spy on their operations.

It’s getting easier, though, as technology advances and biologists adopt new methods.

The new issue of Stanford Medicine magazine delves into some recent discoveries about cells — providing insights into matters ranging from the biology of cancer to the role of plankton in capturing carbon and mitigating climate change.

“It’s a great time for cell biology,” says Markus Covert, PhD, the Shriram Chair of the Department of Bioengineering, in the opening article of the special report on cells.

It used to be that biology was what you went into if you loved science but were scared of math. That’s changed. There’s an influx of people who are intellectually ambidextrous, and the field has become more quantitative. That has broken cell biology wide open.”

Markus Covert, the Shriram Chair, Department of Bioengineering, Stanford Medicine

Among the articles:

• “An unprecedented period of biomedical discovery”: A letter to readers from Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs at Stanford University, highlighting the crucial role of basic science in translational, clinical research and patient care.
• The stuff of life: A very brief history of knowledge about cells, accompanied by a graphic illustrating the anatomy of an animal cell.
• The company they keep: An article about newly discovered cell dynamics affecting cancer: It turns out that cancer cells’ neighbors are major factors determining whether the disease spreads or is eliminated.
• What the cell!: We hear from five scientists who are rethinking what cells can do, altering the cells’ makeup to give them new powers. Among their projects: rejiggering ribosomes, the cell’s protein-making machines; tweaking immune cells to advance cancer therapies; and building synthetic cells to support solutions to global problems such as hunger and insufficient access to medicine.
• The worth of “worthless” ideas: A profile of a connoisseur of cells, Manu Prakash, PhD, associate professor of bioengineering. Prakash revels in the observation of the tiny world, looking to cells to learn from their mysteries and paradoxes. The article includes reporting from Prakash’s June expedition on the Pacific Ocean. He and his team collected data about the contribution of viral marine pandemics to carbon sequestration and studied dozens of single-celled organisms, including a giant (for a cell) the size of a grape that had not been observed since 1898.
• My favorite cell: Nine scientists extol the cells they admire most, with faves ranging from cute choanoflagellates to tricky Salmonella Typhi. Among their reasons: They’re “gorgeous,” “cool” and “beyond science fiction,” and “they have an enormous impact on human health.”
• COVID’s unwitting enablers?: A report on new research that flags certain cells in the lungs as unexpected sources of severe COVID-19, making the difference between a bothersome case and a potentially deadly one. What’s more, the virus enters these susceptible cells via an unexpected route.

 Beyond the section on cells, the issue includes:

• Hidden in plain sight: Pregnancy specialist Irogue Igbinosa, MD, an instructor of obstetrics and gynecology, wrote about changing norms for screening and treating anemia in pregnancy. It’s rising in the U.S. and affects Black women most.
• Why is a common gene variant bad for your brain?: A story on discoveries about a genetic variant — APOE4 — that can increase Alzheimer’s risk. The finding could clear the path for creating an effective drug.
• AI steps into the looking glass with synthetic data: A sampling of medical research that is making use of data produced by generative AI. Researchers discuss the promise and risks of working with synthetic data.
• Reconsidered: breast cancer origins and risk factors: An article on results challenging beliefs about where cancer comes from. The findings suggest that a wide variety of gene sequences we’re born with may play a more decisive role than realized.