Robots grow mini-organs from human stem cells
May 17, 2018 | Categories: Research |A robotic approach to mass-producing organoids could accelerate regenerative medicine research and drug discovery. An automated system that uses robots has been designed to rapidly produce human mini-organs derived from stem cells. Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle developed the new system. Read More
Mini-kidney organoids reveal renal disease secrets
October 2, 2017 | Categories: Research |Kidney organoids are revealing both the factors that influence the formation of kidney cysts, as well as how the disease progresses. The organoids are grown in labware from human stem cells. Polycystic kidney disease affects 12 million people. Until recently, scientists have been unable to recreate the progression of this human disease in a laboratory setting. Read More
New portal vividly reveals the diversity of cell structures
April 5, 2017 | Categories: Announcements |Textbook diagrams of cells show a cursory membrane, nucleus and mitochondria. They have never adequately conveyed cells’ variation and complexity. Seattle’s Allen Institute for Cell Science has unveiled an online portal with stunning images of living cells, and developed 10 stem-cell lines, genetically tagged with fluorescent dyes that cause different structures to glow. The cells are helping researchers […] Read More
With CRISPR, Modeling Disease in Mini Organs
May 6, 2016 | Categories: Research |Traditionally, gene therapy efforts have attempted to treat genetic diseases by modifying DNA inside a patient’s body, but it has been a challenge to deliver the genetic material to all the target tissue, let alone to do so safely. But in recent years, advances in gene editing and stem cell research have enabled scientists to […] Read More
Mini-kidney organoids re-create disease in lab dishes
October 23, 2015 | Categories: Research |Stem-cell biology and gene editing advances offer hope for kidney regeneration, drug discovery Mini-kidney organoids that re-create human kidney disease have now been grown in laboratory petri dishes. The achievement, believed to be the first of its kind, resulted from combining stem cell biology with leading-edge gene-editing techniques. The journal Nature Communications reports the findings […] Read More