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.

Tiny 'brains on chips' reveal mechanisms underlying brain's wrinkling process

Being born with a "tabula rasa" - a clean slate - in the case of the brain is something of a curse. Our brains are already wrinkled like walnuts by the time we are born. Babies born without these wrinkles - smooth brain syndrome - suffer from severe developmental deficiencies and their life expectancy is markedly reduced.

20 Feb 2018

Organ chip technology improves study of the intestine for personalized medicine

Researchers have developed an organ-on-a-chip device using donor-derived human intestinal cells that offers advantages over organoids and new possibilities for personalized medicine.

14 Feb 2018

Researchers develop most sophisticated mini-livers to date

Scientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have developed the most sophisticated mini-livers to date.

13 Feb 2018

Researchers grow hairy skin using mouse stem cells

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have cultured the first lab-grown skin tissue complete with hair follicles.

3 Jan 2018

Macrophages play major role in helping early breast cancer cells spread even before tumor develops

Mount Sinai researchers have discovered that normal immune cells called macrophages, which reside in healthy breast tissue surrounding milk ducts, play a major role in helping early breast cancer cells leave the breast for other parts of the body, potentially creating metastasis before a tumor has even developed, according to a study published in Nature Communications.

2 Jan 2018

Researchers generate 3D cell cultures to investigate mechanisms of drug resistance in breast cancer

An international research team headed by the University of Bern and the Netherlands Cancer Institute has developed 3D cell cultures in which genes can be specifically modified. They allow the study of genes that may cause therapy resistance in breast cancer.

11 Dec 2017

3D mini brains put researchers on a fast track to repair the nervous system

The Houston Methodist Research Institute is making mini brains from human stem cells that put researchers on a fast track to repair the nervous system after injury or disease of the brain and spinal cord.

8 Dec 2017

CLOCK gene plays key role in regulating many genes important to brain evolution

Scientists have long sought to unravel the molecular mysteries that make the human brain special: What processes drove its evolution through the millennia? Which genes are critical to cognitive development?

6 Dec 2017

New study describes unique bioengineered tissue construct for modeling colorectal cancer

A new study describes a unique bioengineered tissue construct, or organoid, into which colorectal cancer cells are embedded, creating a model of the tumor and surrounding extracellular matrix.

6 Dec 2017

Immunologist focuses on initial stages of infection to fight against HIV

In a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, Doris Wilflingseder investigates the initial stages of infection - the time span when the immune system might still stop HIV.

28 Nov 2017

Drug used to prevent and treat malaria may also be effective for Zika virus

A new collaborative study led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and UC San Diego School of Medicine has found that a medication used to prevent and treat malaria may also be effective for Zika virus.

17 Nov 2017

Human brain organoids in the making amidst ethical concerns

Scientists from Vienna have worked for four years and finally come up with a small blob of human brain tissue that has been created from stem cells. These human brain organoids as they are called, are capable of pulsing with electrical activity and also create new nerve cells or neurons.

8 Nov 2017

Research reveals impact of helpful strain of bacteria on infants’ digestive tract

Some of the first living things to greet a newborn baby do a lot more than coo or cuddle. In fact, they may actually help the little one's digestive system prepare for a lifetime of fighting off dangerous germs.

7 Nov 2017

Studying the nanomechanical properties of aging and cancerous cells using AFM

An interview with Prof. Igor Sokolov, Tufts University conducted by April Cashin-Garbutt, MA (Cantab).

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 31 Oct 2017

SU2C and its collaborators announce four teams to intercept cancer at earliest stages

Stand Up To Cancer, joined by the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, LUNGevity, and the American Lung Association, announced today four teams of top researchers who will carry out an attack on cancers of the lung and pancreas using a radical new approach of “interception” of cancers at very early stages, when they can be more successfully treated.

31 Oct 2017

CUMC researchers discover ‘cell of origin’ for esophageal cancer

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have identified cells in the upper digestive tract that can give rise to Barrett's esophagus, a precursor to esophageal cancer. The discovery of this "cell of origin" promises to accelerate the development of more precise screening tools and therapies for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma, the fastest growing form of cancer in the U.S.

11 Oct 2017

Human minibrains expose psychedelic drug effects, study reveals

A Brazilian study has detected variations in signaling pathways that are associated with neurodegeneration, inflammation, and neural plasticity stimulated by a compound from the dimethyltryptamine family known as 5-MeO-DMT.

10 Oct 2017

Study unveils neuronal effects of psychedelics using cerebral organoids

A Brazilian study, published in Scientific Reports on October 09, 2017, has identified changes in signaling pathways associated with neural plasticity, inflammation and neurodegeneration triggered by a compound from the family of dimethyltryptamine known as 5-MeO-DMT.

9 Oct 2017

New body-on-a-chip system holds potential for advanced drug screening

Using the same expertise they've employed to build new organs for patients, scientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and colleagues have engineered micro hearts, lungs and livers that can potentially be used to test new drugs. By combining the micro-organs in a monitored system, the researchers aim to mimic how the human body responds to medications.

5 Oct 2017

New research aims to generate in vitro vascularized pancreatic islets from hPSCs

Tiny packets of cells called islets throughout the pancreas allow the organ to produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes -- also known as juvenile diabetes - tricks the immune system into destroying these islets.

23 Aug 2017