Artificial organs

Mini lab-grown organs are helpful test subjects for new drugs, but they don’t replicate how drugs affect other parts of the body. Now, researchers at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have combined several of these organ models into one system, to create a detailed “body-on-a-chip."

Before new drugs can be used on humans, they need to be tested on animals, artificial models or both, but these results don’t often carry across to humans completely. Now researchers have developed a technique to effectively turn rat hearts into miniature human hearts to create more lifelike models.

​The devices currently used to pump blood around the body in lieu of a healthy heart have their drawbacks. With this in mind, scientists have now developed a silicone heart that beats much like the real thing, something that could provide a safer and more comfortable way to keep the blood pumping. ​

Organ transplants save lives, but in terms of human donors, demand far exceeds supply. Current research is looking into how replacements could be grown in a lab, and now a team has found a way to control how different types of cells arrange themselves during development.

We recently reported on heart structures 3D-printed in a weightless environment. For the first of a regular new feature, we asked one of the company’s chief scientist what was the single biggest impediment to having lab-grown organs available right now. Here’s what he had to say.

Sufferers of type 1 diabetes are required to constantly monitor their blood glucose levels and administer insulin. But the daily hassle of self-care for patients could soon be reduced, as a new study concludes that automated “artificial pancreas” systems could be available in as little as two years.

After wowing CES attendees with a prototype of a single-passenger drone this year, EHang has now teamed up with a biotechnology firm to adapt the vehicle for emergency organ deliveries. ​​