Malcolm Saul Steinberg (June 1, 1930 - February 7, 2012) was an American biologist[1] who proposed the differential adhesion hypothesis as a mechanism explaining cell sorting during embryogenesis and cancer.
[6] He confirmed these predictions in a model system in which adhesion between cells of a cultured line of mouse cells was controlled by genetic expression levels of cadherin.
[7] Steinberg pioneered work in characterizing the physical properties of cells and tissues.
To measure tissue surface tension, he participated in building a compression device for rounded cell aggregates,[8][9] and in sessile droplet experiments in which aggregates of cells were centrifuged at 37 degrees until their shapes reached equilibrium.
[10][11] Later experiments led him to conclude that differential adhesion, and an adhesion gradient, guide the salamander pronephric duct to the cloaca during embryonic development.