years, the mechanism by which they do so has remained controversial. On a planar surface, microtubules are not needed for the movement, but they are required to provide directionality to cell movement and efficient protrusion of the leading edge. When present, microtubules retard cell movement when their dynamics are suppressed by drug treatment or by tubulin mutations. Inverse problems in the context of cell motility An area of research called inverse problems in cell motility has been established. This approach is based on the idea that behavioral or shape changes of a cell bear information about the underlying mechanisms that generate these changes. Reading cell motion, namely, understanding the underlying biophysical and mechanochemical processes, is of paramount importance. The mathematical models developed in these works determine some physical features and material properties of the cells locally through analysis of live cell image sequences and uses this information to make further inferences about the molecular structures, dynamics, and processes within the cells, such as the actin network, microdomains, chemotaxis, adhesion, and retrograde flow. See also Cap formation Chemotaxis Collective cell migration Durotaxis Endocytic cycle Mouse models of breast cancer metastasis Neurophilic Protein dynamics References External links Cell Migration Gateway The Cell Migration Gateway is a comprehensive and regularly updated resource on cell migration The Cytoskeleton and Cell Migration A tour of images and videos by the J. V. Small lab in Salzburg and Vienna Cellular processes Cell movement Articles containing video clips