Scientific research isn’t a sprint. Ideas and studies often develop over months or even years. In some cases we can’t act on an idea or question because the technology isn’t available to test our hypotheses, and in others it is simply because the study requires data to determine if it is a reasonable idea. But even on a daily basis research requires detailed and careful preparation. This is a system set-up early in the morning to prepare hearts for experiments that will run all day. A ‘slushy’ bath of saline is prepared to chill the heart similar to the procedure used in organ transplants. A small needle will be fed into the aorta to attach the heart to a system that will perfuse it and keep it alive for up to several hours. With the system we can investigate why it is that some hearts fail, and also test new therapies that might slow or even reverse heart disease.
