Left alone in a lab dish, pluripotent stem cells run riot. They differentiate into a disorganized mass of tissues: beating heart cells, neurons, even hair and teeth. It's still a challenge to coax stem cells to grow into specific tissues, let alone into organized structures. This year, researchers did just that, in spectacular style, growing a variety of "organoids" in the lab: liver buds, mini-kidneys, and, most remarkably, rudimentary human brains.
展开▼
