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

Muscle Manufacture
05 April 2014

Muscle Manufacture

For the first time biomedical engineers have grown living skeletal muscle in the lab that can contract as strongly as normal muscle, and can repair itself inside a living animal. The researchers implanted this lab-grown muscle into a live mouse and watched it grow through a window on the mouse’s back. Here, peeking through this portal, the many strands of muscle fibre stained different colours and viewed through a microscope can be seen. To put the muscle to the test, it was stimulated with electric pulses and the strength of each contraction was measured. It was more than 10 times stronger than any previously engineered muscle. Lab-grown muscle is now being investigated for its ability to repair diseased and injured muscles.

Written by Nick Kennedy

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.