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Culturing Connections
24 May 2013

Culturing Connections

For decades, scientists around the world have studied cells growing in the lab as an alternative to using animals – a technique known as tissue culture. But some types of cells, such as nerves cells (neurons) deep in the brain, don’t grow happily in the unfamiliar and unrealistic environment of a plastic Petri dish. To get round this problem, researchers are developing complex techniques that ever more closely mimic the conditions of the cells’ original home. This tangle of fibres is a group of nerve cells from the hippocampus – part of the brain involved in memory – growing in the lab. Reassuringly, the cells are making plenty of connections between each other, as they would do in the brain, and can be kept alive for several months. This new approach will allow researchers to study some of the processes involved in memory and diseases such as Alzheimer’s more easily.

Written by Kat Arney

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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.

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