Image: Bryan Christie
In Brief
- Stem cells give rise to all the organs in the body, a process that continues to fascinate and mystify the scientific world.
- A leading Japanese group demonstrated the growth of both a human and mouse retina in a laboratory dish.
- The Fraunhofer network of technical institutes is an example of how researchers and manufacturers work closely together in industry.
- The event enables better understanding of brain development and may lead to eventual treatments for eye diseases.
In the womb, a ball of identical cells gives rise to varied cell types that ultimately form highly ordered structures and then the full panoply of organs in the human body. The process advances according to an internal biological script that directs each fold and crease of tissue to assume exactly the proper shape and dimension.
Scientists familiar with this progression from simple parts to a complex system have never stopped contemplating embryonic development with a sense of muted wonder and a concomitant desire to replicate early development on top of a laboratory bench—both to understand the biology better and to translate the information into ways of repairing and replacing damaged tissues. Their time may have come. Recent successes in deciphering the intricacies of development have raised the prospect of replacement organs grown outside the body arriving in surgical suites within as little as 10 years.
This article was originally published with the title Grow Your Own Eye.
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3 Comments
Add CommentThis is such a wonderful article and describes this exciting research so clearly. It also highlights the power of pluripotent stem cells such as embryonic stem cells and iPS cells to make actual tissues and organs, something that adult stem cells just can't do. My own lab is investigating the function of pluripotent stem cells for neural regeneration and I blog about it here: http://www.ipscell.com .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks,
Paul
It is exciting to hear about any advancements in health care, now that we have a national plan. Watching the work that Cuba has done throughout the world with their "miricle vision" program adds to the excitement. They continue to offer several types of eye care to multiple thousands of patients for free.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMessage from the CEO: When I was at University in '95 in the Optics Lab Class, I invented a concept called the 'eyeglass pill'. Set up the prototype and everything. Basically, you take a prescription set of vitamins regularly to establish the right index of refraction in the eyeball's aqueous humour to focus the image on the cornea. Then that freak industrial accident happened in Russia where we accidentally discovered the concept of keriotomy. In theory laser keriotomy and lasik procedures, as they are now called, is a better idea. Even though we still don't fully understand why it works while millions are having their eyeballs scored with lasers every day (or the long-term consequences!). lol Today, I had the pleasure of posting a link to this SciAm article on LasikPlus' Facebook page. Got to figuratively finally "poke" them in the eye for stealing my idea with a better one that was just given to them. Like Microsoft and IBM, ya know? This magazine is the greatest, especially now that it can be read in the form of digital electrons. Far out!
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