= Solution
Bulk <RNA sequencing> mixes the <gene expression> of all sampled cells, while dissociated-cell measurements retain individual profiles but usually lose their original neighbours and positions. <Spatial transcriptomics> preserves those relationships. The same <cell type> can behave differently at a tissue boundary, near a blood vessel or beside a tumour, so position can explain a state that a cell-type label alone cannot.
Spatial measurements can reveal tissue layers, developmental boundaries, tumour–immune interfaces and subcellular <RNA localization>. They can distinguish a change in cell abundance from a change in expression within a particular anatomical niche. Dissociation can also lose fragile cells or induce stress responses.
\b[Spatial proximity supplies context, not proof of communication.] Adjacent expression of a ligand and receptor suggests an interaction to test; establishing signalling requires additional evidence and perturbation.
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