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Power of One
11 February 2017

Power of One

If a scientist wants to determine the effects of a genetic mutation on a particular cell type, the general procedure is to introduce the mutation into a population of those cells and assay the cells en masse. However, because each cell contains its own mutated genome, it could essentially be thought of as an individual experiment. Thus if the scientist could isolate and assess individual cells, they’d obtain many thousands of data points instead of just one. To this end, in recent years, a number of 'single-cell' techniques have been developed that can extract information from the negligible amounts of material in each cell. And to complement these techniques, researchers have also developed microfluidic devices that isolate single cells into microdroplets (pictured). Acting like microscopic test-tubes, these reagent-filled droplets effectively turn a population of cells into thousands of parallel experiments, both increasing data yield and saving time and money.

Written by Ruth Williams

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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.

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