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Studying disease in a petri dish is nothing new. But the way we’ve been able to make models of disease – and turn those diseased cells back in time to their earliest beginnings – is new. By peering back in time, researchers are gathering a wealth of new information about how diseases originate and develop, and what kinds of drugs or other therapies might be able to help. These new disease models are possible through induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), discovered less than a decade ago, and in the short time they’ve been around, more than 46 different disease models have been created with the help of iPS technology. It’s really just getting started and researchers are very hopeful for what they may discover — which is why we think the next top model will be in a dish, not Dior.
Our friends at EuroStemCell published a much more detailed summary of what disease models and and how they are being used. And they created a lovely little video to go with it:
Our regular feature, Right Turn, showcases the “lighter” side of stem cells and regenerative medicine. Every Friday, we will bring you cartoons, photos, videos and other content that may be just as thought provoking as the written submissions that you are used to finding here, but they definitely won’t be blogs.
As always, we welcome your feedback and we also welcome suitable submissions. Be creative! Use the right (!) side of your brain. Make us laugh! Let’s see if we can make this new direction a positive one for all of us. Send your submission to info(at)ccrm.ca.
Lisa Willemse
Latest posts by Lisa Willemse (see all)
- Toronto team tackling unmet need in cell manufacturing using synthetic biology - January 9, 2020
- Medicine by Design-funded researchers devise new strategy to improve the safety of cell therapies - February 22, 2019
- Right Turn: These three videos show why we should be impressed by our young stem cell researchers - November 18, 2016
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