Well said. I find it disappointing how many cancer researchers delight in their arcane knowledge of cell line characteristics and will debate heartily about wh

Well said. I find it disappointing how many cancer researchers delight in their arcane knowledge of cell line characteristics and will debate heartily about which is the right model for an experiment, so at the end of the day other cancer researchers can review their work and nod approvingly about their choice of cell lines, etc. These cells are exceedingly unnatural, even by the standards of cancer cells, and their extensive use in research now far exceeds their ability to tell us things that are meaningful about cancer in the body (IMO). I understand science requires reproducibility, and (in principle at least) cell line work is more reproducible... but I'm worried were chasing red herrings. If you are using cell lines to do basic research on a very specific subsystems, that is likely OK, but so much research these days is "translational" and involves observing cell-wide changes and reactions.