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  • Human neural stem cells growing in culture. Neural stem cells can be made to develop into cells found in the central nervous system; neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
  • Mouse neural stem cells growing in culture. Neural stem cells can be made to develop into cells found in the central nervous system; neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
  • Neurons and astrocytes from neural stem cells
  • Astrocytes and oligodendrocytes from neural stem cells
  • Astrocytes and oligodendrocytes from neural stem cells
  • Astrocytes and oligodendrocytes from neural stem cells
  • Neural stem cells transplanted into mouse brain
  • Neurons derived from human neural stem cells.
  • Movie of beating heart muscle from stem cells
  • Neural stem cells transplanted into a mouse brain
  • Neural stem cells transplanted into a mouse brain
  • Transplanted neural stem cells giving rise to neurons
  • Brain cancer stem cells stained for vimentin (red).
  • Human brain cancer stem cells treated with graphene, SEM
  • Human brain cancer stem cells treated with graphene, SEM
  • Human neural stem cells stained for nestin (red). Nestin is a type of intermediate filamant protein that is used as a marker of neural stem cells. The blue dots are the cell nuclei stained with DAPI. Neural stem cells can be made to develop into cells found in the central nervous system; neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
  • Human embryonic stem cell (gold) growing on a layer of supporting cells (fibroblasts). Stem cells are derived from very early embryos and can either be grown to stay in their original state or triggered to form almost any type of human cell. The fibroblasts provide special factors that maintain the stem cells in their original state. The stem cell appears to be grasped by the underlying fibroblast. Stem cell research could lead to cures for many diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and diabetes, where a patient's cells are damaged or absent.
  • Astrocytes derived from human neural stem cells. Astrocytes are crucial for correct brain function.
  • Neurons derived from human neural stem cells. The green staining highlights the typical appearance of differentiated nerve cells. Cells such as these could form the basis of future treatments for degenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
  • Stem cell transfer of mitochondria
  • Shigella flexneri invading embryonic stem cell
  • Movie: stem cell division and neuronal birth
  • Cell walls in a Quercus (oak) stem, LM
  • Human stem cell embedded in a 3D matrix, Cryo SEM.
  • Human stem cell embedded in a 3D matrix, Cryo SEM
  • Human stem cell embedded in a 3D matrix, Cryo SEM
  • Human stem cell embedded in a 3D matrix, Cryo SEM
  • Human stem cell embedded in a 3D matrix, Cryo SEM
  • Danae racemosa (L.) Moench Asparagaceae. Alexandrian or Poet's laurel. Distribution: Turkey to Iran. A monotypic genus with supreme adaptation to dry conditions, bearing its flowers and fruits on phylloclades, leaf like expanded stems. The phylloclades are too thick for sunlight to pass through so have chlorophyll containing cells on both sides (the cells in the middle do not) and stomata on both sides to facilitate CO2 diffusion into the plant. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Veratrum nigrum L. Melanthiaceae Distribution: Europe. Cows do not eat Veratrum species in the meadows, and human poisoning with it caused vomiting and fainting. In the 1850s it was found to reduce the heart's action and slow the pulse (Bentley, 1861, called it an 'arterial sedative'), and in 1859 it was used orally in a woman who was having convulsions due to eclampsia. Dr Paul DeLacy Baker in Alabama treated her with drops of a tincture of V. viride. She recovered. It was used thereafter, as the first choice of treatment, and, when blood pressure monitoring became possible, it was discovered that it worked by reducing the high blood pressure that occurs in eclampsia. By 1947 death rates were reduced from 30% to 5% by its use at the Boston Lying-in Hospital. It works by dilating the arteries in muscles and in the gastrointestinal circulation. A further use of Veratrum species came to light when it was noted that V. californicum - and other species - if eaten by sheep resulted in foetal malformations, in particular only having one eye. The chemical in the plant that was responsible, cyclopamine, was found to act on certain genetic pathways responsible for stem cell division in the regulation of the development of bilateral symmetry in the embryo/foetus. Synthetic analogues have been developed which act on what have come to be called the 'hedgehog signalling pathways' in stem cell division, and these 'Hedgehog inhibitors' are being introduced into medicine for the treatment of various cancers like chondrosarcoma, myelofibrosis, and advanced basal cell carcinoma. The drugs are saridegib, erismodegib and vismodegib. All the early herbals report on its ability to cause vomiting. As a herbal medicine it is Prescription Only, via a registered dentist or physician (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.