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

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Revealing Healing
07 December 2016

Revealing Healing

Diabetics face a daily struggle to control the amount of glucose in their blood. Sufferers are often unable to make insulin, a chemical that keeps glucose in check, which also plays a vital role in healing wounds. These skin cells – each with a yellow-stained nucleus inside a purple-stained membrane – belong to a fruit fly embryo, although they share similarities with our own skin. Blasting away the cell in the middle with a laser, researchers watch under a high-powered microscope as surrounding cells work together to close the hole. They form a muscle-like band called an actomyosin cable around the wound (thicker purple circle), which contracts to seal the gap. In genetically modified flies where insulin can’t work normally, actomyosin cables are much weaker and form more slowly. This may explain why human diabetics find certain injuries take longer to heal, and may guide future treatments to speed up the process.

Written by John Ankers

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.