PREVIEW

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Oslo University Hospital have grown miniature versions of human organs. The 'organoids' are used to study common human diseases. In small plastic dishes in the laboratory they grow their mini-brains, mini hearts, mini eyes, and mini lungs grow. Professor Magnar Bjørås leads the research group Cellular Responses to DNA Damage, which includes 25 researchers working on the project. The process of growing mini-organs starts with skin cells or blood cells from patients with relevant diseases. In the laboratory, the cells are reversed into stem cells, which are the basis for all organs. They feed the stem cells with information in the form of growth factors and other chemical compounds which cause the stem cells to develop into mini-brains, mini eyes, mini hearts, and mini lungs. The mini organs are then fed with carbohydrates, oxygen, fatty acids, minerals, amino acids – everything that cells and humans need to live and grow. When the mini organs have reached a certain stage, researchers can start testing drugs and new therapies to see if these can treat the diseases that the mini organs carry. In the brains, this includes dementia, with a special focus on rare kinds that develop at an early age.