BPoD has moved!

BPoD has recently changed our domain name - we can now be found at bpod.org.uk

Please update your bookmarks!

Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Path of Invasion
16 February 2016

Path of Invasion

Glioblastoma is the most malignant and common form of brain cancer. In people with the condition, cancer cells (green) rapidly spread through the brain tissue (blue) by travelling along brain structures such as blood vessels (red). This makes it difficult to fully remove the tumours by surgery, and there are no effective treatments. Life expectancy is just over one year. “If we can target this spread, it may be possible to make therapies more effective,” says Simona Parrinello of the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre (CSC). Parrinello hopes to identify what makes the cancer cells different from ‘normal’ brain cells, and how they interact with blood vessels to spread. In collaboration with Vincenzo de Paola, who leads the CSC’s Neuroplasticity and Disease group, her team use a microscope technique called intravital imaging to watch these interactions and see the cells spread through the brains of living mice in ‘real time’.

Read more about Parrinello’s research, and her recent Programme Foundation Award from Cancer Research UK worth £1.5 million for this work.

Written by Deborah Oakley

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

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.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.