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'Living doll' made of human cancer cells

4 February 2009

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine. — This human figure is made from living human liver cancer cells and demonstrates a new technique that could improve the screening of new drug compounds
(Image: Shoji Takeuchi)

The figure is made from blobs of collagen one tenth of a millimetre wide. These are seeded with the cancer cells (red), as well as cells on the surface that secrete proteins to bind the arrangement together (green) — The figure is made from blobs of collagen one tenth of a millimetre wide. These are seeded with the cancer cells (red), as well as cells on the surface that secrete proteins to bind the arrangement together (green)
(Image: Shoji Takeuchi)

The figure is moved using forceps. The team that developed the new technique say it is possible to make all kinds of shapes, and even to build organ-mimicking structures with many different cell types — The figure is moved using forceps. The team that developed the new technique say it is possible to make all kinds of shapes, and even to build organ-mimicking structures with many…

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