Organoids

—This is an excerpt from a new book, The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots, by MIT CSAIL director Daniela Rus  Robots are an incredible way to enhance and extend the reach of human capabilities. In 2009, I worked with the biologist Roger Payne to use camera-mounted drones to study whales and their life spans.  The same drone was used to study uncontacted tribes in the Amazon, so they could be observed without the risk of bringing germs to people who had not developed immunity.  We also built a drone…

The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on November 8, 2021. Credit: NASAAstronauts on Expedition 71 will explore neurological, botanical, and physiological responses to space, contributing to safer space travel and sustainable life support systems.Studies of neurological organoids, plant growth, and shifts in body fluids are among the scientific…

Researchers have known for decades that amniotic fluid holds fetal cells. That’s what allows doctors to diagnose conditions like Down syndrome and sickle-cell disease before birth via amniocentesis, in which a needle is used to take a sample of the fluid. The vast majority of these cells, 95% or more, are dead cells sloughed off by the fetus, says Mattia Gerli, a stem cell biologist at University College London and an author of a paper on the work published in Nature Medicine today. But what the researchers homed in on…

Researchers have created a stem cell-based organoid model of the placental barrier, offering a new tool for studying placental function and drug toxicity, potentially improving fetal safety in drug development.Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) overcome scientific roadblocks and develop a model to assess the biology of the human placental barrier.During pregnancy, the human placenta plays multiple essential roles, including hormone production and nutrient/waste processing. It also serves as a…

Scientists at the Princess Máxima Center and the Hubrecht Institute have developed brain organoids from human fetal brain tissue, offering new insights into brain development and disease modeling. These organoids, mirroring the complexity of the brain, could revolutionize research in neurology and oncology. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.comScientists have developed 3D mini-organs from human fetal brain tissue that self-organize in vitro. These lab-grown organoids open up a brand-new way of studying how the…

Image of novel brain organoid model showing its characteristic convoluted shaped and extended neuroepithelium. The neurons present in the organoid are shown in different colors depending on their location within the tissue. Credit: Benedetta Artegiani, Delilah Hendriks, Anna PagliaroResearchers from the Princess Máxima Center and the Hubrecht Institute have developed advanced brain organoids that closely resemble the human cortex. These organoids, named Expanded Neuroepithelium Organoids (ENOs), mimic the brain’s…

A culture of mini livers. Dutch scientists have used organoid models and CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing to understand the biology and genetic basis of fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC), a rare childhood liver cancer. Their research reveals that different genetic mutations lead to varying tumor aggressiveness and identified hepatocytes as the probable cell-of-origin. The findings could guide future therapies for FLC. Credit: Benedetta Artegiani / Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncologyScientists of the Princess Máxima Center…

Blobs of human brain tissue generated in a lab have made headlines during recent years. These bumps, known as brain organoids in the scientific community but more often as 'minibrains'. These organoids have the potential to advance fields as diverse as computer science, drug development, and basic medical study. Yet, as researchers make these models increasingly complex, they raise concerns about the possibility that they may one day become too close to human brains and acquire awareness. 'Minibrains' are the…

The researchers developed experiments that combine microelectrode arrays made from transparent graphene, and two-photon imaging, a microscopy technique that can image living tissue up to one millimeter in thickness. Credit: David Baillot/UC San DiegoResearchers demonstrate that organoids react to external sensory stimuli using cutting-edge recording technology.A group of engineers and neuroscientists have shown, for the first time, that brain organoids implanted in mice form functional connections to the mice’s cortex and…

A cross-section of mini bone marrow organoids showing cells that produce blood platelets, in a network of blood vessels. Credit: Dr. A. Khan, University of BirminghamResearchers at Oxford University and the University of Birmingham have made a major breakthrough in cancer treatment by creating the first human bone marrow “organoids” that accurately replicate the key features of human bone marrow. The technology, which is the subject of a patent application filed by the <span class="glossaryLink"…