29 February 2020 | New Scientist | 29MELANOMA ON A CHIP: NICK MOSER & PROFESSOR CHRIS BAKAL DIFFERENTIATING BRAIN CANCER CELLS: SUMANA SHRESTHA
The art of cancer
ICR 2019 Science and Medical
Imaging CompetitionIMAGINE halving an apple and
looking at its core. That is a bit like
what happened to this metastatic
melanoma cell in an image created
by Nick Moser and Chris Bakal.
The researchers used scanning
electron microscopy to create the
shot, shortlisted in this year’s
Institute of Cancer Research (ICR)
Science and Medical Imaging
competition. This contest is a
chance for staff at the ICR and the
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation
Trust to showcase their work.
Moser and Bakal used an ion
beam to blast the cell, creating a
triangular shape as the beam cut
the cell and the silica substrate it
grew on. This gives researchers an
unprecedented view of the cell.
Melanoma cells attach to
surfaces using focal adhesions –
structures that they make to
interact with their surroundings.
Removing part of the cell shows
what happens as these form. The
spread of cancer cells to other parts
of the body is especially dangerous,
so understanding how they attach
to various tissues is vital.
The overall winning shot
(below) shows neural stem cells
from mice given glioblastoma,
an aggressive brain cancer. It was
taken by Sumana Shrestha, who
used methods known as confocal
microscopy and immunostaining
to reveal different types of cells. ❚
Bethan Ackerley