Right Turn: A lesson in blood development

Hematopoiesis is a long word, but in essence it describes a pretty straight-forward concept: The formation of our blood system, including all of its components. It’s a multi-step process beginning with stem cells and ending with mature, specialized ones like red blood cells, white blood cells, lymphocytes and others. I won’t go into great detail here, though, because the video below does an excellent job explaining the process in a clear manner:

This video, narrated by South African physician and clinical haematologist Vernon Louw, demonstrates the power of visual tools to communicate complex processes. Although Dr. Louw’s animation tools are fairly rudimentary (at least when compared to the sleek, award-winning StemCellShorts videos), he uses colour and a clear, calm voice-over to show how stem cells differentiate into the various cell types that make up our blood–in just ten minutes.

Feel free to share any similar videos you’ve come across in the comments.

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Peter Raaymakers

Communications Coordinator at Stem Cell Network

Peter is the Stem Cell Network's Communications Manager, and he has been with the Network since early 2010. He's a communicator by trade who hadn't taken a science course since grade 11, so his foray into the field of advanced science and research has been an eye-opening bit of mental exercise--but a very rewarding one.

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