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Make a Break

Using spatial transcriptomics – pinpointing gene activity in tissue – to study mechano-regulation of fracture healing

17 March 2025

Make a Break

A broken bone takes weeks to heal – while new bone forms and the broken pieces of old tissue are broken down and resorbed into the body. Highlighted in bright colours in these mouse femurs, we see five weeks of healing after a fracture, with osteoblast cells working to build new bone highlighted in yellow, next to purple areas of bone resorption. In the final two weeks (rightmost columns) the lower femur is put under mechanical stress – 'loading' the bone with pressure which accelerates new bone formation compared the unstressed bone (top). By considering how mechanical stress spreads across the healing bone, researchers can now look for different patterns of genes switching on in different places – mechanomic clues that might guide healing human bones, too.

Written by John Ankers

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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.

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