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

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Miniguts and MicroRNAs
24 February 2016

Miniguts and MicroRNAs

Researchers studying the molecular details of how tumours grow within the body are faced with a challenge. Because it’s not really possible to peer inside a patient in this way, scientists have to use laboratory models. Either they can look at flat layers of human cancer cells living in plastic Petri dishes, which don’t accurately reflect the three-dimensional nature of a bulging tumour, or they can look at tumours growing in animals, which may not fully reflect what’s going on in human cancers. One solution is to make three-dimensional ‘miniguts’ (top and bottom left), created by allowing bowel cells to grow floating in liquid rather than sat on plastic. Using this technique, researchers have discovered that bowel cells lacking a small fragment of RNA called microRNA 34a – a molecule related to DNA – bloat into tumour-like spheres (right). Figuring out why this happens could point to new cancer treatments or prevention.

Written by Kat Arney

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.