Big lessons from small things – the JCS special issue on cilia and flagella

From the Latin word for ‘eyelash’, cilia might be small in size,but they have ever-expanding roles in cell motility, signalling,tissue homeostasis, development and human health. This breadthis showcased in the diverse articles and editorial pieces we havecurated for this Journal of Cell Science (JCS) Special Issue on ‘Ciliaand Flagella: from Basic Biology to Disease’. Rather thanfunctioning as a ‘one size fits all’ organelle, new models, tools andtechniques are revealing that cilia in fact exhibit stunning structuraland functional diversity. Importantly, emerging technologies nowallow us to better capture the dynamics that are central to ciliaryfunction – from macromolecular assembly to tubulin dynamicsto coordinated ciliary beating. Here, we highlight a few emergingthemes from this special issue, marking the direction of travel for thefield.