Creating something that's not there and yet is vital sounds like a conundrum. Tubes and sacs of the body's organs and transport highways share such a feature: an absence of tissue in the middle – a lumen – but how is this initiated and formed? Here, using computer modelling in pancreatic organoids – lab-grown developing pancreas in miniature – this study reveals the pressures and processes leading to lumen formation (in blue)
Read the published research article here
Written by
BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.
BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.