Prize Rosettes

These striking rosettes are created from neuroepithelial cells – a special type of precursor cell from which the brain and spinal cord develop. The structures in this image have been grown in the lab from human stem cells in order to shed light on the origins of brain tumours. Right now, a quarter of people diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumour will survive for a year and only around one in twenty will make it to five years, so new approaches for treatment are urgently needed. It’s not ethically or practically possible to follow the process of brain tumour development in humans, so researchers have developed this cell-based approach as a substitute. By studying the intricate details of how these cells grow under normal conditions and searching for faulty genes and molecules that trigger them into becoming cancerous, researchers hope to find life-saving new ideas for treating deadly brain tumours.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

Writer

Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

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• Image voted Supporters’ favourite by Sumana Shrestha, Paediatric Tumour Biology, Division of Clinical Studies
• The Institute of Cancer Research, Kensington, London, UK
• Image copyright held by the photographer
• ICR Science and Medical Imaging Competition, 2021