ATLANTA: For the first time, scientists filmed the process of a human white blood cell dying. The video captured each stage of death and suggests that the cells alert their immune system that they are dying.
The Guardian reports La Trobe University scientists used time-lapse microscopy to witness the molecules being ejected from inside the dying white blood cell. The technology enables extremely quick events to be filmed by photographing hundreds of images each second.
Previously scientists believed the cells died in a random process. However, the new time-lapse video suggests the death is actually controlled and intentional.
Co-leader of the team and cell biologist, Georgia Atkin-Smith, says the three stages involved in the process are bulging, exploding, and breaking apart. She says the death of white blood cells had never been captured before because observation usually occurred after death.
