Mid-Transformation

Every process has a beginning and end, but sometimes the middle segment is the most interesting. This is an image of a neural stem cell in the midst of the process of differentiating into a neuron.

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Mid-Transformation

Every process has a beginning and end, but sometimes the middle segment is the most interesting. This is an image of a neural stem cell in the midst of the process of differentiating into a neuron.

What am I looking at?

This is an electron microscopy image of a mouse neural stem cell transforming into a neuron. The large blue half-dome in the center is the neuron cell body (1). The green projections coming off the cell body are axons (2). The purple network underneath the cell is a gel containing a mat of synthetic nanofibers that the cell can grow on (3).

Biology in the background

As neural stem cells transform into neurons, they start to develop the characteristic structures present in most neurons, such as the cell body (1), axons (2), and dendrites (not shown in this image). In the body, axons contact other neurons to form synapses, allowing communication between neurons. Observing this process in the lab helps researchers determine the cellular and molecular processes involved in neuronal stem cell differentiation, which might one day inform the development of new treatments for nerve and spinal cord injuries.

In a mouse, neural stem cells have cell bodies that are generally about 12 micrometers across, or roughly six times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Technique

This image was created using scanning electron microscopy.