Getting from A to B can be a tricky business, especially for cells on the move. An international team of researchers from the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), and the University of Helsinki have zoomed in on the biochemical and biomechanical processes underlying cell migration by taking a closer look at one of the major players, the pseudokinase ILK. The results of their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), improve our understanding of this intriguing protein.