Understanding how cells avoid obstacles while navigating complex environments

Imagine a dark room packed full of furniture. Now imagine moving through it to get to the other side, using only your toe tips for guidance. While it may seem challenging (or unspeakably tedious) to us, this is a task that many cells in our body perform regularly while migrating through tissues. New research from the Diz-Muñoz group at EMBL Heidelberg has now identified a novel molecular pathway that helps cells achieve this feat.