Organoids News and Research

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Organoids are three-dimensional cell cultures from embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells that model important features of whole organs.

Scientists discover major regulator of schizophrenia that is active during early development

Researchers have discovered a gene that acts as a master regulator of schizophrenia during the early stages of human brain development.

12 Sep 2019

LMRI scientists discover cause of debilitating eye disease

Scientists at the Lowy Medical Research Institute have discovered one cause of a progressive, debilitating eye disease called macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel).

11 Sep 2019

Lab-grown brain organoids and the brains of preemie babies generate similar electrical impulses

Brain organoids — also called mini-brains — are 3D cellular models that represent aspects of the human brain in the laboratory. Brain organoids help researchers track human development, unravel the molecular events that lead to disease and test new treatments.

30 Aug 2019

“Mini Brains” in the lab show electrical activity similar to a preemie’s brain

Researchers have developed successfully mini brains in the labs which are essentially a cluster of brain cells perfused in fluids. These brain tissues are now showing electrical activity akin to real brain, explain the researchers and this is a path-breaking development in brain research.

29 Aug 2019

Cancer cells ‘corrupt’ their healthy neighbors to support tumor growth

The healthy cells immediately surrounding a tumor become more stem cell-like and support cancer growth, reveals a new study published in Nature.

From The Francis Crick Institute 29 Aug 2019

U of T scientists create antibodies with enormous potential for regenerative medicine

Our body makes antibodies to fight infections. But the synthetic versions of these molecules could hold the key to stimulating the body's ability to regenerate.

27 Aug 2019

Retina-on-a-chip may provide useful alternative to existing models for studying eye disease

The development of a retina-on-a-chip, which combines living human cells with an artificial tissue-like system, has been described today in the open-access journal eLife.

27 Aug 2019

Mini kidneys grown in the lab could be used to better understand kidney diseases

An international team of researchers led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has grown 'miniature kidneys' in the laboratory that could be used to better understand how kidney diseases develop in individual patients.

20 Aug 2019

UC San Diego researchers win $9 million funding to identify cellular cause of type 1 diabetes

University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have been awarded nearly $9 million to fund two multi-institutional research projects that use human pluripotent stem cells, CRISPR and human organoids to dissect beta cell defects and create a human cell model of type 1 diabetes aimed at identifying the elusive cellular actions leading to disease onset.

14 Aug 2019

Genome editing strategy opens new perspectives in the treatment of cystic fibrosis

The approach adopted by the team of the University of Trento, led by Anna Cereseto, opens new perspectives in the treatment of cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease for which no cure is currently available.

7 Aug 2019

UCLA researchers discover link between progenitor cells and age-related prostate growth

The prostates of older mice contain more luminal progenitor cells -- cells capable of generating new prostate tissue -- than the prostates of younger mice, UCLA researchers have discovered.

6 Aug 2019

First-of-its-kind study in space station seeks to find causes of major diseases

High above the Earth, researchers are conducting a first-of-its-kind study to help patients with Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis on the planet below. The International Space Station experiment is looking for what triggers these diseases by studying how nerve and immune brain cells interact.

1 Aug 2019

Scientists discover how resistance to the chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil arises

Australian researchers have unlocked the mystery as to why the chemotherapy drug 5-Fluorouracil is not effective at treating certain cancers.

17 Jul 2019

Gene modulation goes wireless hacking the "boss gene"

Researchers from the University at Buffalo have successfully used technology to wirelessly tweak the functioning of a gene FGFR1. This gene is vital in the growth of embryos into adults. Their experiments were successful in the lab grown brain tissues and shows potential in therapeutics.

16 Jul 2019

Human pancreas on a chip could help identify possible cause of CF-Related Diabetes

Scientists created human pancreas on a chip that allowed them to identify the possible cause of a frequent and deadly complication of cystic fibrosis (CF) called CF-Related Diabetes, or CFRD.

16 Jul 2019

Comprehensive cell atlas of the human liver

The liver is one of the largest and most versatile organs of the human body. It turns sugars, proteins, and fats from our food into substances useful for the body and releases them to the cells.

11 Jul 2019

New gene-editing protocol allows perfect mutation-effect matching

Geneticists have long awaited the ability to simply knock out or add a single gene here and there, as desired, with accuracy and efficiency, and then study the exact consequences caused by the loss or addition of that genetic information.

9 Jul 2019

New method to grow embryonic stem cells on a microfluidic chip

It's no surprise that using human embryos for biological and medical research comes with many ethical concerns. Correct though it is to proceed with caution in these matters, the fact is that much science would benefit from being able to study human biology more accurately.

29 Jun 2019

Scientists develop universal FACS-based approach to heterogenous cell sorting, propelling organoid research

Researchers have developed three novel FACS protocols that can be used to isolate neural progenitors, astrocytes, and neurons from infected cerebral organoids.

19 Jun 2019

Researchers successfully grow mini-tumors of head and neck cancers to test therapies

Head and neck cancer is an aggressive type of cancer that often grows back, despite patients undergoing harsh treatments.

18 Jun 2019