Viability assay

A viability assay is like a game of "Red Light, Green Light." In this game, you have a group of people standing in a line, and one person is chosen to be the "stoplight." The stoplight faces away from the line of people and says "green light" which means the others can move forward. But if the stoplight turns around and says "red light," the other people have to freeze.

In a viability assay, scientists are playing a similar game with cells. They need to figure out if a group of cells is alive, healthy, and able to do its job, or if it is "dead" and unable to function. So the cells are labelled with a special "dye" or molecule that changes color depending on whether the cells are alive or dead (kind of like a traffic light changing colors). If the cells are alive and healthy, the dye will light up green, like "go." But if the cells are "dead," the dye will light up red, like "stop."

The scientists can then use this information to figure out how well a drug or treatment is working on the cells. If the cells are healthy and green after treatment, it means the treatment is effective. But if the cells are red and dead, it means the treatment is not working, and they need to find a new approach. This helps doctors and researchers make better decisions about how to treat certain diseases!