Gone Fishing: Searching for Clues About Metastasis

Gone Fishing: Searching for Clues About Metastasis

Collections: Image Award Winners, Metastasis

2015 Award Winner

David Colin Benjamin
Hynes Laboratory

Koch Institute at MIT, MIT Department of Biology

Is it the seed or the soil that causes a plant to grow? A single circulating tumor cell can spawn a metastasis, but only if it has a fertile environment. 

This photograph of blood vessels (red) in a transparent zebrafish shows individual cancer cells (green) frozen in time. Researchers track their motions and interactions with their surroundings to determine how non-cancerous cells contribute to metastatic growth. Such investigations aim to identify new targets for curbing the spread of cancer through the body.

Video

David Benjamin shares the story behind "Gone Fishing."

You can also watch his presentation at the 2015 Image Awards opening event on March 10, 2015 or the teaser video on the Koch Institute's Facebook page.