The cover picture shows isolation of human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) from breast cancer-susceptible tissue: long-term growth of HMEC after 3 weeks in continuous culture. Note attempts to reform duct elements, but in two dimensions in a dish rather than in three dimensions in tissue. This ground-based work studies the growth and assembly of HMEC from breast cancer-susceptible tissue. Radiation can make the cells cancerous, enabling a better comparison of healthy vs tumorous tissue. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is sponsoring research with bioreactors—rotating-wall vessels designed to grow tissue samples in space—to understand more about breast cancer.
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Cover credit: DR ROBERT TICHMOND, NASA/MSFC