Researchers funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at Tufts University, and their collaborators, are the first to develop a 3D model to mimic human bone marrow that has successfully created blood platelets outside a human body.
Platelets, which are generated from giant blood marrow cells called megakaryoctyes, are necessary for blood to clot, and have been found to have a role in immune responses. They are generated in bone marrow, which fills the centers of bones. When bone marrow fails to produce enough platelets, the body will bruise and bleed more easily, blood won’t clot at cuts, and the chance of internal bleeding can increase.
via Mental Floss
Image: KIM THURLER, TUFTS UNIVERSITY
