Cell of the Month: Cardiomyocytes
Cardiomyocytes are cardiac muscle cells. They are terminally differentiated and facilitate contractile forces ("beatings") of the heart. Grown in vitro as a monolayer sheath, cardiomyocytes are...
Cell of the Month: CD34+ Cells
Welcome back to our cell of the month series. This time we’re talking about CD34+ cells, a type of undifferentiated multipotent hematopoetic stem cell (HSC) with the potential to differentiate into...
Cell of the Month: The Kidney
Most of us will remember from high school biology class that kidneys comprise part of the excretory system and function in toxin removal, maintaining electrolyte homeostasis and regulating the...
Cell of the Month: Osteoblasts
Cell of The Month: Osteoblasts Osteoblasts, often referred to as bone-forming cells, are specialized and terminally differentiated products of mesenchymal stem cells whose major function is to...
The Many Faces of Phagocytes
Most of us were introduced to phagocytosis as a cellular event where dead host cells, microbial cells or their components, or other foreign bodies are engulfed and often destroyed by specialized...
Macrophages and Microglia – Same but Different!
For anyone who has studied biology, macrophages have most likely been on your reading list at one point or another. Microglia on the other hand are less likely to feature on your undergraduate...
Mesenchymal Stem Cells – a Short Introduction
Anyone who follows popular science news will have noticed that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have gained traction in recent years. Alleviating chronic back pain, enabling stroke sufferers to walk...
The Lowdown on Retinal Pigment Epithelium
Have you heard of the retinal pigment epithelium? Well, the retinal pigment epithelium (or RPE) is located at the interface between the light-sensitive outer parts of the visual cells...
Moving Beyond Animals: Advanced Skin Models for R&D
Nature defines skin models as “experimental systems that recreate aspects of human skin physiology, function, or disease”. Skin models include in vitro models, ex vivo cultures, and animal models....