{"entity":{"id":"single-cell-spatial","kind":"technology","name":"Single-cell & spatial profiling","aka":[],"tldr":"Reading the genes of each individual cell, and mapping where each cell sits in the tumour.","summary":"scRNA-seq (10x Genomics) resolves tumour, immune, and stromal populations; spatial transcriptomics (Visium, Xenium, CosMx, MERFISH) and multiplex protein imaging (CODEX, IMC) keep tissue architecture. Revealing how ADC bystander killing, T-cell exclusion, and resistance niches work. Research-grade; entering trials as correlative science.","status":"emerging","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial_transcriptomics","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial_transcriptomics"}],"tags":[],"related":["idea-immune-exclusion-drivers"],"cancers":[],"sections":["diagnostics","drug-discovery"],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["valius","elucidate-bio","immunai","mission-bio","nucleai","origin-bio"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":["spatial-biology-instruments"],"notes":[],"principle":"RNA is captured with barcodes per cell or per spatial location, or read by imaging-based in situ hybridisation for hundreds to thousands of genes.","strengths":["Resolves heterogeneity and microenvironment","Discovery engine for new targets"],"limitations":["Cost, throughput, analysis burden","Not yet clinically actionable"]},"route":"/technologies/single-cell-spatial/","neighbours":{"idea":[{"id":"idea-bio2-marrow-niche-on-chip","kind":"idea","name":"A bone marrow niche on a chip to study human dormancy","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-marrow-niche-on-chip/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-rapid-autopsy-commons","kind":"idea","name":"A global rapid tissue donation network for metastatic disease","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-rapid-autopsy-commons/"},{"id":"idea-bio1-rapid-autopsy-network","kind":"idea","name":"A national rapid research autopsy network for end-stage cancer","route":"/ideas/idea-bio1-rapid-autopsy-network/"},{"id":"idea-tr1-window-of-opportunity-default","kind":"idea","name":"A short pre-surgery drug window as the default early test of new agents","route":"/ideas/idea-tr1-window-of-opportunity-default/"},{"id":"idea-data-open-cell-foundation-model","kind":"idea","name":"An open foundation model of the cancer cell trained on perturbation 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