Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) is an enzyme widely known for its detoxifying role in metabolic processes and has been shown to be involved in the genesis of various cancers. In this issue, Carpentino and colleagues demonstrate that ALDH+ colitis cells can be grown as spheroid stem cell-like colonies and, over serial in vivo passage generate adenocarcinomas in mice, demonstrating a novel method to study the transition from colitis to cancer. Since this process is currently poorly understood, the authors approach may facilitate further studies into the mechanisms involved in this phenomenon. The cover image depicts an immunocytochemical stain of a colon cancer-derived sphere demonstrating varying levels of ALDH labeling. For details, see the article by Carpentino and colleagues on page 8208 of this issue.