• Question: what sort of enviroment do the cells need to be kept in to be healthy?

    Asked by bertie to Matt on 13 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Matt Dunn

      Matt Dunn answered on 13 Jun 2016:

      Hi 395cesf28,

      A great question! The cells I work on are brain cells, so the best environment would be one that is very similar to the brain. We try and copy that environment as best as possible so the cells grow in the same way.

      Brain cells like to be kept at 38 degrees (around body temperature), and they need the right amount of sugars, salts, nutrients and proteins usually found in the brain, which comes prepared in cell media. If you’re interested, the type of cell media I used is called ‘Neurobasal’, and it works great! They also hate any acidic environments, so I keep the pH as close to 7 as I can by changing the cell liquid every two days, so they don’t produce too much waste.

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