Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Lab-grown Brain
23 August 2014

Lab-grown Brain

This might look like fancy confectionary, but it’s actually the spongy scaffold in which a sophisticated type of lab-grown brain tissue was created. The sponge-like material, which is made from a protein found in silk, was formed into six differently coloured rings and seeded with neurons from a rat, while the middle was filled with collagen gel – much like a jam doughnut. Within days, the neurons had formed networks and projected nerve fibres through the gel to connect with neurons across the doughnut. After a few weeks, the centre had become a distinct region of white matter, packed with crisscrossing nerve fibres, while the rings resembled neuron-packed grey matter. When researchers dropped a weight onto the tissue, it responded with changes in electrical and chemical activity much like a real rat brain. Among other things, then, this brain-like tissue could be used to study how brains respond to traumatic injury.

Written by Daniel Cossins

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

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.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.