MCB 2210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Cervical Cancer, Hela, Neutrophil
6 Sep 2016
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Primary cells (non-cancerous, non-transformed) can be isolated and can also be cultured to study cell-specific functions (neutrophils, lymphocytes, neurons, etc. ) Transformed (i. e. cancerous cells) can be grown continuously in culture; Hela cells (cervical cancer cells) for example have been growing continuously since the 1950s. Many transformed cell lines duplicate key features of normal cells and can be used to study important processes. Some model basic cell functions, others retain specialized functions. Increasingly, we can also study cells in vivo, in model organisms. One of the core tools of cell biology. Used to limit contract, magnification and resolving power limiting what can be detected with them. White light passes through the specimen before being collected. Cells are mostly transparent- they neither reflect or absorb much light so contrast is poor and little detail can be made out. Contrast is the difference in intensity between an object and its background.
