Drug Discovery & Development and Bioscience Technology magazines asked drug and life science researchers about current practices, trends, and research challenges in cell biology. Their answers and candid comments will be published here and in Drug Discovery & Development magazine.
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Why do you study cells?
Technologies and Approaches Used to Study Cells
Antibodies (78%) and microscopy (75%) are the most commonly-used tools for cell studies. Approximately half of the researchers use fluorescent markers/probes (60%), flow cytometry (48%), and immunological assays (48%). Digging deeper into the survey results shows that RNAi (35%), bioluminescence (29%), and genetic markers (27%) remain options for researchers. Others are using techniques such as cytogenetic testing (11%), hybridization testing (14%), and high content screening (19%).
Human vs. Animal Cells
More than half (61%) study both human and animal cells. 81% study human cells and 79% study animal cells. Of the nearly 40% who specialize in one versus the other, 21% focus on humans, while 19% focus on animals.
Species of Animal Cells Studied
Among those studying animal cells, most (82%) study mouse cells and half (52%) study rat cells.
Types of Differentiated Cells Studied
Those studying differentiated cells listed a range of cell types. Here is a sampling:
Huh-7
Epithelial
Fibroblast
Keratinocytes
Hepatocytes
Lymphocytes
Macrophages
Neuroblastoma cells
Neurons
Prostate
Smooth muscle cells
Types of Cells Studied
Most researchers are studying differentiated cells (63%). A quarter (26%) are studying primary stem cells. Researchers studying other types of cells represent a large portion of the answers to this question. These cells include:
Autologous
Bacterial
Blood cells
Cancer cells
Cell lines
Gametes
Hybridomas
Melanophores
Microbial cells
NCI295A
NRK cells
Parasites
Plant cells
Tissue culture lines
Ways in Which Cell Biology Research Is Conducted
Cell biology research is being conducted mostly in vitro (86%) and in cells (81%). Half (52%) are conducting cell biology using in vivo methods.
This article was published in Drug Discovery & Development magazine: Vol. 11, No. 8, August, 2008, pp. 34.
