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

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/ motor neurone disease II Junction Box

A living 3D model of a neuromuscular junction allows study of nerve faults in motor neurone disease

18 November 2018

Junction Box

Millions of times a day we turn our thoughts into actions - at neuromuscular junctions where electrical signals from motor neurons feed into our muscles. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) gradually weakens these connections for thousands of people around the world – but here’s a vital step towards new treatments. Inside a sort of lab-in-a-box called a microfluidic device, a bundle of nerve cells (artificially-coloured green with nuclei in blue) is reaching out tiny finger-like neurites towards muscle cells (purple) – creating a living 3D model of a neuromuscular junction. The neurons are modified to be optogenetic – they respond to pulses of laser light by pulling at the muscle cells, revealing weaker forces in cells grown from ALS sufferers. The next job is to bathe the diseased cells in different combinations of drugs, looking for clues to restoring neuromuscular junctions to full strength, in the hope of treating ALS as well as other conditions affecting the nervous system.

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.