Growing cells in culture in the lab is fundamental for many areas of research and drug discovery. Cells grown in a petri-dish, however, don’t resemble the tissues found in living organisms. 3D scaffolds have been developed to overcome this and enhance the growth, differentiation and function of cultured cells.
This video gives an insight into tissue culture, including the osteocytes (bone cells) which will be taking a trip to the international space station.
By creating tissue cultures which are more realistic, scientists hope to reduce the number of animals used for experiments.