Called the IN Cell Analyzer, it allows scientists to snap a picture of whole, live cells--the better to learn how a compound might act within the body.

FORBES: Laser light shows

Sir2 can turn off whole swaths of genes inside cells, keeping the DNA coiled up in a protected position and less exposed to environmental damage during hard times.

FORBES: Researchers are unlocking the mysteries of aging.

The whole house felt like a series of monastic cells, their piety replaced by a worldly curiosity, an endless warren of blackened fireplaces, bookshelves and windows framing the sea.

WSJ: At Home in the World

One way this was found out was by vibrating whole frogs while recording the electrical impulses from particular cells in their inner ears that were suspected of responding to seismic stimulation.

ECONOMIST: Extra sensory perception

Tracking these cells in animals at a cellular level over a whole year allowed the scientists to come up with mathematical models to predict what happens to our skin over long periods.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Skin cell find offers cancer clue

As well as the whole organ modelling under way, other groups are focusing on single cells and trying to mimic their myriad processes using computers.

ECONOMIST: REPORTS: The heart of the matter | The

Geron is hoping to use this technology not to copy whole animals, which has proved difficult and inefficient, but instead to create organs and cells for transplant.

FORBES: Geron Gets Cloning Patents

They knew a drug called XR9576 could block P-glycoprotein and sensitise individual cancer cells to chemotherapy, but they did not know if the drug would be successful against whole tumours, which can be very difficult to treat.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Cancer 'bouncers' keep drugs out