Date Time Study reveals a unique mode of cell migration on soft ‘viscoelastic’ surfaces Stanford engineers find that cancer cells exhibit a unique mode of migration on squishy materials, which are similar to biological tissues. In contrast, cell movement – a process central to cancer metastasis and other biological processes – is typically studied on very rigid materials. By Allison Gasparini Inside your body, cell movement plays a crucial role in many significant biological processes, including wound healing, immune responses and the potential spread of cancer. “Most people don’t die from having a primary tumor,” said Kolade Adebowale, a graduate student in chemical engineering, and a member of the Chemical Biology Interface (CBI) graduate program in Chemistry, Engineering & Medicine for Human Health (ChEM-H) at Stanford University. “The problem is when cancer cells from the tumor acquire the ability to metastasize or move to different parts of the body.”