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

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Better Betas

Improved stem-cell derived beta cells that could effectively control type 1 diabetes

08 February 2019

Better Betas

Stem-cell therapy offers great hope for diseases in which certain types of cells are dysfunctional or dying – such as diabetes, which affects insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The idea is that the desired replacement cells can be grown from human stem cells (capable of developing into almost any cell type) and then engrafted into the patient. Over the years, scientists have been working to create effective stem-cell derived beta cells, but often these cells’ insulin production has been erratic. Now, through painstaking tweaking of the culturing conditions, researchers have come up with their best beta cell recipe yet. Indeed, the new improved cells (pictured) are superior at responding to glucose and appropriately secreting insulin (stained bright poppy red) than previous versions. And, when transferred into mice, these cells could effectively control the animals’ blood sugar for months. As such, the cells may be nearing readiness for clinical trial.

Written by Ruth Williams

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.