Chirality

Why Your Cells Have a Favorite Direction to Spin, and Why It Matters

Why Your Cells Have a Favorite Direction to Spin, and Why It Matters

Place a single cell on a circular micropattern, a dinner-plate-sized arena at the cellular scale, and something strange happens. The cell doesn’t wander randomly. It starts tracing a petal-shaped loop, over and over, circling clockwise or counterclockwise with the determination of a figure skater. About half go clockwise, half counterclockwise. Until they don’t.