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

Tube Construction
08 January 2017

Tube Construction

The art of origami can turn a simple sheet of paper into a beautiful bird. Substitute paper for cells and a developing embryo creates an entire nervous system. During development a sheet of cells rolls up and fuses together to form a tube, the neural tube, which goes on to become the brain and spinal cord. As the tube takes shape, cells at the edges of the sheet reach out towards each other using protrusions called filopodia and ruffles. This is seen here in a mouse embryo using electron microscopy. Researchers asked whether these protrusions are essential for neural tube formation. Mutant mice lacking the proteins needed to make these protrusions were unable to complete closure of the tube, resulting in neural tube defects. In humans, one in every thousand babies are born with such defects, including spina bifida. These findings hint at what might be going wrong.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

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.