Going dotty' in service of science

Dr Rishita Changede and her team from the Mechanobiology Institute at NUS discovered that integrins are arranged in orderly patterns, as discs at the cell membrane which allow the cells to establish a physical connection to its surroundings, acting as the “hands and feet” of the cell. They also enable the process where cells can sense and respond to external mechanical stimuli by converting them into biochemical signals. She created an aboriginal art-inspired image of integrin which made the cover of science journal Developmental Cell in December 2015.

• The Straits Times, 15 January 2016, Science, pB20