Taking It In

Resembling a landscape of sprawling mountains, roaring volcanoes and deep canyons, this image of a brain cell is suitably dramatic for the pioneering technology it illustrates. The chasm in the middle of the cell is an incision made by researchers working on novel methods of drug delivery, to allow them to observe the uptake of nanotubes, shown here in red and brown. Only nanometres [billionths of a metre] long, these particles are essentially minute scaffolds of carbon atoms, onto which other molecules, such as drugs or genetic material, can be attached. As they can be engineered to be readily absorbed by cells, nanotubes can then be used to carry these useful molecules into target cells. Being able to intervene in specific cells in the brain would be especially valuable, raising the possibility of delivering treatments to fight neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Emmanuelle Briolat

Writer

A researcher specialising in visual signals in Lepidoptera, camouflage and the effects of light pollution, Emmanuelle’s writing covers a range of topics, from biomedical research to children’s books about moth defences.

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• Image by Wellcome Image Award Finalists Khuloud T. Al-Jamal, Serene Tay & Michael Cicirko
• King's College London
• Copyright held by the Wellcome Trust
• Researched published in PLOS One, November 2013