Cells - Blog Posts

Bio joke bio joke

Hi Kate! What did you learn from your Heart Cells experiment? Sounds so interesting!

Small Tissue Chips in Space a Big Leap Forward for Research

Tissue chips, thumb-drive sized devices that contain human cells in a 3D matrix, represent a giant leap in science.

They can test cells’ response to:

•stresses

•drugs

•genetic changes

The Tissue Chips in Space initiative seeks to better understand the role of microgravity on human health and disease and to translate that understanding to improved human health on Earth.

This series of investigations to test tissue chips in microgravity aboard the International Space Station is planned through a collaboration between the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes for Health (NIH) and the National Laboratory in partnership with NASA.

Many of the changes in the human body caused by microgravity resemble the onset and progression of diseases associated with aging on Earth, but in space, changes occur much faster. Scientists may be able to use tissue chips in space to model changes that take months or years to happen on Earth.

A tissue chip needs three properties, according to Lucie Low, scientific program manager at NCATS. “It has to be 3D,” she explained. “It must have multiple different types of cells, and it must have microfluidic channels. Essentially, you get a functional unit of what human tissues are like, outside of the body,” said Low.

As accurate models of the structure and function of human organs, tissue chips provide a model for predicting whether a drug, vaccine or biologic agent is safe in humans more quickly and effectively than current methods.

This first phase of Tissue Chips in Space includes five investigations. An investigation of immune system aging is planned for launch on the SpaceX CRS-16 flight, scheduled for mid-November. The other four, scheduled to launch on subsequent flights, include lung host defense, the blood-brain barrier, musculoskeletal disease and kidney function. This phase tests the effects of microgravity on the tissue chips and demonstrates the capability of the automated system.

All five investigations make a second flight about 18 months later to confirm use of the model, such as testing potential drugs on the particular organs. Four more projects are scheduled for launch in summer 2020, including two on engineered heart tissue to understand cardiovascular health, one on muscle wasting and another on gut inflammation.

Ultimately, the technology could allow astronauts going into space to take along personalized chips that could be used to monitor changes in their bodies and to test possible countermeasures and therapies. That would be a major leap forward in keeping astronauts healthy on missions to deep space!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Blorbo family tree <3

Image of the Week - December 26, 2016

CIL:38938 - http://www.cellimagelibrary.org/images/38938

Description: Scanning electron micrograph of the inside of a cancer cell. This cell originates from a squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. The cell has been frozen and split open to reveal its nucleus.

Author: Anne Weston

Licensing: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 UK: England & Wales (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 UK)

[Mitosis in garlic roots]

Crash Course (Mitosis; Splitting Up Is Complicated)

'Paradise'

Who else think of one thing and only one thing.

Impression smears of brain tissue are rarely rewarding on cytology as most neuronal cells rupture with the slightest amount of pressure.  What results is a Vast Pink Wasteland of Myelin…

Behold the Gastric Rainbow. Sounds gross, but it’s actually beautiful. This cross-section of a mouse intestine is labeled with a spectrum of fluorescent molecules. From the green and magenta digestive enzyme-producing cells to the red mucus-secreting cells, this is one of the most dynamic areas in the mammalian body: Each cell is replaced by another every 3-5 days.

(via The Scientist Magazine)

biologists will be like this is a very simplified diagram of a mammalian cell

chemists will be like this is a molecule

Day 14/14, 13th September, 2023 – Wednesday

I apologise for the severe lack of pictures, but I promise I'll start posting some this weekend. Either way, 13th had been my last UT, biology! To be honest, I didn't do well in any of them, but I'm reconciling myself with the fact that this was primarily because I didn't know exactly what to expect and it was new for me. At least I now know what the papers may look like and how exactly I am expected to answer them. I also learnt some more about how I study/how I need to study for my tests, which is going to be very helpful in the future. This mini productivity challenge is over! For now. I'll probably start a new one soon (with pictures this time, I promise haha).

Day 7/14, 6th September, 2023 – Wednesday

Alright! Like I said before, I tried doing that thing where people try to block out their time and then finish as much work as they can within that amount of time, which I guess is called time-blocking??? Or something of the sort?? Either way, that's what I tried to do today. I set reminders reminding me to switch tasks at a particular time and tried to accomplish as much as I could, as seen from my previous post, I'd added 7 tasks in total. Long story short, I had to prioritise and remove 5 of those 7 tasks. And hence, I discovered that time-blocking doesn't really work for me because once I begin a task, I commit to it for as long as I can bear it. Either way, it wasn't a completely unproductive day. I finished my biology notes!! Which was important, because I have my Bio UT on the 13th, which is next Wednesday.

Day 1/14, 31st August, 2023 – Thursday

Today I wasn't as productive as I should've been since I'd had a terrible headache (horrible start, I'm aware). However, after taking some medicine and eating something, I started to feel better and began to do things. I finished taking down notes from my biology ppt, so that was good! I plan on getting more done tomorrow.