Images part 1 of many

http://webvision.med.utah.edu/Wong.html

http://www.pnas.org/content/104/20/8287/F3.expansion.html

Muller cells are the only glial cells produced by retinal stem cells. More on them later.

http://www.usm.maine.edu/psy/broida/101/retina.JPG

Retinal neurons - images and relationships part 1

Ok, here is the in-depth examination of the functions of different classes of retinal neurons.All these neuronal types can be developed from retinal stem cells

Photoreceptors: Rods and cones

Cones - come in red, blue and green-sensing varieties (in humans at least, but I digress!). Cones are responsible for all of your high-def colour vision. They are found most densely in the central retina. The combinations of different levels of red, green and blue cone activation are translated by the brain into all the different colours that we see.

Rods - These cells are more sensitive than cones and respond to much lower quantities of light. They are responsible for your vision at low light levels - the reason that your vision is in shades of grey at night is that rods are doing all the work. They do not distinguish between colours, only levels of brightness.

Rods and cones pass their signals onto nearbybipolar cells and horizontal cells via synapses. Bipolar cells can receive input from many photoreceptors (found at the edges of the retina, this setup provides high sensitivity) or one photoreceptor can output to many bipolar cells (found more centrally, this gives greater acuity of vision). A neuron can have many synaptic inputs and outputs.

Horizontal cells are involved in visual processing. They sharpen outlines in the image that hits your retinas, emphasising lines and boundaries. (explanation via link below) Maybe some kind of grid pattern would be appropriate? Basically, this kind of processing is like pressing the "sharpen image" button on photoshop. Quick and universal, sharpens edges.

Bipolar cells are basically sites of integration. They take the signals from photoreceptor and horizontal cells, add them together and send a signal of variable strength on to amacrine cells and ganglion cells.

A good, more in-depth explanation of retinal neuron connections

More in part 2!

New Stuff!

Eh finally after all my life drama I have got some images up!

they are in my drawings album of my photobucket:

http://s786.photobucket.com/albums/yy148/DesignBot/Drawings/

Just a couple of pages from my sketchbook, more designy this time.

I think we should settle on a more definite stem cell "theme" to go for, like the metamorphosis from foetal stem cell to the range of specalized cells (and then which cells and stem cells to go for) or raising awareness of a specific stem cell therapy possiblity, for exalmple Parkinsons, spinal chord, or retinal (and then concentrate on those specific cells in our designs). It may help move the process on a bit and we can start getting some real designin' goin'. :)

Retinal neuron shapes

I think we talked a bit about retinal neurons when we met? Anyway, they are the neurons in the retina in the eye.

There are only a few types of neurons in the retina. Each type has a distinct shape and function. Sensory cells - the rods and cones - fire electrical signals when they are hit by a sufficient quantity of light. The other neurons in the retina - bipolar cells, horizontal cells, amacrine cells, and ganglion cells - are involved in processing the signals from the rods and cones and transmitting them through the optic nerve to the brain.

http://www.ganfyd.org/index.php?title=Retina

http://webvision.med.utah.edu/Wong.html

Stem cells could be used to replaced damaged retinal neurons. There is no cell proliferation in the adult retina, so no natural regeneration occurs there.

This paper is about transplanting photoreceptor precursor cells into the eye.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7116/abs/nature05161.html

(Thanks Mike!)

This paper is about making stem cells produce retinal cells for transplantation into damaged retinas.

http://www.pnas.org/content/103/34/12769.abstract




Their figures are worth a look. Once again, badger me for pdfs :)

Neurotransmitters

Oxytocin


Acetylcholine

Dopamine


Serotonin

They are a bit simplified, but the info seems to check out ok. Hopefully good enough to spark some ideas about symbols. The knives and forks 'food' symbol for astroglial cells is still awesome, by the way. People don't appreciate glia as they should.

Research and drawings!!

Well first of all hello and apologies for getting these up slow, I have been putting together images for an aluminium book and sorting out my new (second hand) computer which was not behaving itself, haven't read through everything you have given me recently yet, butI have put up a lot of the stuff I have have been looking at and drawing from plus drawings onto a photobucket account:

http://s786.photobucket.com/albums/yy148/DesignBot/

Would be cool to know what you think on both research and drawings. Plus if you know of any other cool clear images and or names of stemcells and neurons I could google for more indpiration :)

Put them up here too :)

Everything you ever wanted to know about stem cells (but were too afraid to ask)

Stem cells - Nature answers some FAQs

Pulling back from our focus on neural stem cells, this Nature feature talks about some basic stem cell FAQs. A useful primer before going onto the cool creating-transplanting-miraculously curing diseases-inadvertently causing cancers-Frankensteinian-bleeding edge stem cell research papers, which form a huge, confusing morass and are likely to suck in the unwary as a 7-year old sucks in spaghetti. (Leaving red stains on the ceiling and walls.)

There are sections on Physiology, Laboratory use, Medicine and Ethics, with many good sub-articles.

Once again, if Nature has made this closed-access I can get it to you in other ways, DesignBot.