Cell fate challenge: Can you predict the fate of cells before it happens?

As mentioned before in our dedicated stem cell blog post https://www.nanolive.com/labelfree-stemcells/, studying stem cells is among, if not THE biggest challenge in today’s biological research.

Scientists can discover more about the behavior of stem cells with Nanolive’s 3D live cell microscope – the 3D Cell Explorer. This microscope offers the best contrast, resolution and versatility that a label-free microscopic approach can offer today, coupled to unmatched time resolution. Last but not least, it’s 3D.

An example is this video where we can observe some fascinating features that allow us to predict the fate of these stem cells. Let’s analyze the movie: 

Cell B’s mitochondria appear as an healthy network of interconnected tubular structures and DNA condensates to form chromosomes just before the cell rounds up preparing for division.

In Cell A the mitochondrial network is fragmented and the shape of individual mitochondria dramatically changes. This alteration is a clear early sign of upcoming cell death. Moreover, the DNA in Cell A is fragmenting and all the cell content condensates into a big agglomerate of cell material that is ejected at the end of the process. 

Watch the video here on the right and share your comments on social media!

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