New Tube

Transporting chemicals and waste from our tissues, the lymphatic system signals immune cells to anything suspicious. Each lymph vessel is studded in valves which help to flush liquids around the body along with, sometimes, opportunist cancer cells. With this artificial lymphangion – a stretch of lymph vessel found between valves – researchers hope to find out more. Created in a lab, bioengineers suck a gloopy mixture of cells through a tiny chamber filled with another liquid, using a trick of gravity to keep the buoyant particles under control while a finger-like vessel forms from endothelial cells (highlighted in green, with their nuclei in blue) surrounded by outer layers of muscle (red). The method could be tweaked to prepare different vessels, helping to examine the role of inflammatory chemicals in disorders like lymphedema, as well as ways to block the spread of cancer.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

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A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image by Amirali Selahi, Jain Lab, Texas A&M University
• Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, TX, USA
• Image copyright held by the original authors
• Research published in Lab on a Chip, November 2021