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Growing Eyeballs
Embryonic stem cells growing in a dish can spontaneously form complex structures resembling the retina—a discovery that could one day help restore sight to the blind.
A clump of mouse embryonic stem cells can self-organize into three-dimensional structures reminiscent of the retina in the early stages of embryonic development, according to a new study published Wednesday in Nature. Researchers believe this process could one day serve as a source of cells to transplant into diseased and damaged retinas—a potential way to restore sight to the blind.
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, began with clusters of about 3,000 mouse embryonic stem cells floating in a mix of chemicals designed to spur differentiation into retinal cells. After a week, several balloon-like sacs of cells began to protrude from the surface of each cluster. Over the next few days, those sacs pouched inward on themselves to form structures resembling the optic cup—the complex dual-layered structure that emerges early in development and eventually becomes the retina.
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Embryonic stem cells growing in a dish can spontaneously form complex structures resembling the retina—a discovery that could one day help restore sight to the blind.
A clump of mouse embryonic stem cells can self-organize into three-dimensional structures reminiscent of the retina in the early stages of embryonic development, according to a new study published Wednesday in Nature. Researchers believe this process could one day serve as a source of cells to transplant into diseased and damaged retinas—a potential way to restore sight to the blind.
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, began with clusters of about 3,000 mouse embryonic stem cells floating in a mix of chemicals designed to spur differentiation into retinal cells. After a week, several balloon-like sacs of cells began to protrude from the surface of each cluster. Over the next few days, those sacs pouched inward on themselves to form structures resembling the optic cup—the complex dual-layered structure that emerges early in development and eventually becomes the retina.
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