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

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Building Brains
08 April 2016

Building Brains

Proving size doesn't matter, a region of the brain no bigger than a pea controls how we handle stress, how we grow and our fertility. The anterior pituitary gland manages this by producing a host of hormones. Disorders of this gland can cause a range of problems from dwarfism to diabetes. Current treatment involves taking replacement hormones, though mimicking the body's daily changes in hormone levels is tricky and laden with side effects if it goes awry. Transplanting healthy pituitary tissue could resolve this but such tissue is in short supply. One solution is to grow pituitary tissue in a dish. With this in mind, researchers coaxed human embryonic stem cells to develop into pituitary tissue (pink) by growing them in specialised 3D constructs with a cocktail of chemicals. Following transplantation, this tissue successfully treated mice lacking anterior pituitary glands. Research continues to make human transplants a reality.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

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.