Two ways to move together: Force coordination in collective chemotaxis

Collective chemotaxis is often viewed through a mesenchymal lens, emphasizing peripheral polarity and force generation. In this issue, Diaz and Mayor (https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202507211) reveal that epithelial-like neural crest clusters achieve directed chemotaxis through a junction-centered strategy that redistributes polarity, contractility, and traction forces internally.