Video: Inside the Thymus

Explore Stem Cells

April 29th is the annual Day of Immunology. To celebrate, ThymiStem in collaboration with animator Cameron Duguid have created a beautiful, hand drawn animation explaining the function of the thymus, an essential organ of the immune system.  The video shows how T cells, a type of white blood cell, go through a complex journey in the thymus to become mature immune cells ready to fight off infection.  Given how essential the thymus is for a healthy immune system, ThymiStem scientists are trying to understand how to they can use stem cells to repair and regenerate this organ. Their ultimate goal is to develop therapies for patients with damaged or absent thymuses. Such treatments will also be of great value to the elderly, as the thymus becomes smaller and less able to produce the T cells necessary to fight infections as we age.  To learn more about the exciting research being carried out by ThymiStem visit thymistem.org.

Animation and Sound: Cameron Duguid http://www.cameronduguid.co.uk/

Scientific Content: Clare Blackburn, Cameron Duguid, Emma Kemp and Cathy Southworth

Voice over: Paul Rouse

With thanks to our funders Thymistem (http://www.thymistem.org/)

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No [602587].