Yong Jia Feng, M.D./ Ph.D., Research Laboratory Specialist, Pediatric Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School

This image of the mouse small intestine shows several flask-like structures called crypts. At the base of the crypts are the stem cells that are responsible for renewing the cell layer of the intestine every 3-4 days! Approximately 70,000 cells per day are produced under direction if these stem cells. In this image, the stem cells are stained yellow by an antibody to a molecule called mTor, which functions as a sensor of nutrients and energy balance and controls (in part) cell division within the stem cell compartment.