Imagine you’re about to go on a cross-country trip, stopping at spots along the way to admire local attractions. You’d probably want to have road atlas handy, containing maps at different scales, covering both the major highways and the roads of smaller cities and towns -; or at least a GPS that can access a digital atlas with this information.
Until recently, cancer researchers have been like cross-country travelers with only a few maps of a few popular cities. And because of how fast some cancers grow, the maps quickly go out of date. This situation has hindered doctors’ ability to understand what’s really going on inside tumors and develop effective treatments.