GROWING NERVE CELLS
This group of cells, known as multipotent human neural progenitor cells, transform into the many different cells that form the human nervous system, such as star-shaped astrocyte cells. The cells in this image were artificially cultured under conditions similar to those in the developing brain, and after three weeks they were stained. The green cells are neural progenitor cells and the others, seen in orange, are astrocyte cells. Both sport nuclei that are coloured blue. Over time, most – if not all – of the neural progenitor cells will diversify into astrocyte cells. This photomicrograph image was taken at 200x magnification.