Patterson, Thom. "Scientist: We've Grown a Nearly Full Human 'mini Brain' - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/06/health/pioneers-brain-organoids/index.html>.
“Human ‘Mini Brains’ Grown in Labs May Help Solve Cancer, Autism, Alzheimer’s”
For less than a decade, scientists have been making brain tissue organoids - pieces of human tissue grown in petri dishes from skin cells- in labs. However, biomedical researcher at Ohio State, Rene Anand, has recently claimed that his team has grown organoids with most of the brain parts, even up to 98% of the cells that exist in a brain of a human fetus at five weeks, in some of his organoids. While scientists are very excited about the potential of the brain tissue organoids, the project is still at a very early stage, according to Anand: "The sooner we commercialize it and make a model available, the sooner everybody else can jump in and use it to solve these problems. Brain organoids may help researchers find key solutions to some sub-types of autism within 10 years.” Though the project may still only just be beginning, Rene Anand and Dr. Rudolph Tanzi were able to provide answers to a few general questions in this article. A few examples the author disclosed were that scientists could indeed make a miniature version of your brain (but it couldn’t develop into a fully grown brain), the brains could be used to contribute to new treatments by being used to mimic brains with various diseases, and the brain organoids are definitely not conscious. The nearly complete brain tissue organoids grown by Anand and his team were a major breakthrough, and hopefully will be ready to aid in research within the next five to ten years.
The growth of brain tissue organoids is definitely relevant to today’s society. People suffer from cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson’s, but there is little doctors can do to treat it. Part of the problem is the great mystery associated with these diseases, the fact that scientists don’t fully understand them. Without having a complete understanding of a disease, obviously it is hard to come up with treatment. However, the organoids will be able to mimic brains with Alzheimer’s or cancer, and scientists will be able to see, first hand, what these diseases do to the brain. From there better treatment, or even a cure, can be discovered and diseases like cancer or Parkinson’s will no longer be a death sentence to the people who have them. While we can not yet really see the effects of the brain tissue organoids on our society, they hold great potential, and in a few years the impact they have in research will be significant.
Overall, I found the article very informative, and even enjoyable to read. The topic of growing brains in a lab is so fascinating, and it was very interesting to learn about it in the article. The author did a nice job of making the topic clear and easy to understand through giving just enough detail and using vocabulary that is understandable to people who aren’t scientists. The author also included many quotes from scientists and experts, specifically from Rene Anand and Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, so I knew that the information was from a reliable source and all the claims that were made by the author could be backed up. The only thing that could have been done better in the article would have been to give a more detailed description of the brain tissue organoids. The majority of the article was about the role the organoids played in role of research and discovering cures for diseases, but the author didn’t talk much about the organoids themselves. The only thing that was said, throughout the entire article, was that they are made up of pieces of human tissue grown in petri dishes from skin cells. It was a little bit strange to read an entire article about the great things brain organoids could do without really knowing what a brain organoid is, or how it functions. In the end, I did definitely learn a lot from this article and found it pretty interesting.
You did a great job picking important details from the article and passing them on in a clear and logical format. The beginning of the review read more like an article in its own right, rather than a review. You also did a good job connecting the findings in the article to the future. This was accomplished by describing how the process can be improved and commercialized for wide scale use in the medical industry. You also did a good job relating the information back to the researchers and provided names to back up the data. You could have improved the review by going into more detail in the construction of the actual organoid, such as how exactly brain cells are grown from skin cells, and what parts of the brain have been reproduced. You could have also discussed what the organoids are allowing scientists to test, perhaps new drugs can be examined that would normally not be approved for human trials. I was very surprised by the findings in the article, I have never heard of sample cultures being sued to study neurodegenerative disorders before, and the idea is exciting.
ReplyDeleteOverall very well done, you did a great job of picking out the most important details in the article and giving only enough information to make the reader informed but keep them from getting bored. Additionally you did a good job of describing the speculations for what these discoveries mean for the future. Lastly you did a good job of making your words credible by quoting the article directly. You could have done a better job of describing the process of creating the brains. It would be interesting to know how they go from skin cells to brain cells. You could have also gone into more detail about how the new brain is helping them research the diseases mentioned. This article is exciting because it is nice to see real progress in a world filled with thoughts like, oh that disease will be cured one day but not today.
ReplyDeletePatterson, Thom. "Scientist: We've Grown a Nearly Full Human 'mini Brain' - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. .
Maddie summarized her article exceptionally well. All of the information necessary to understand what the article was about was included and cohesively presented. She included discerning quotes that only enhanced the prevalence of her topic. She also consistently made connections to what this project means to the future--by ending her summary with a sentence like this, it left an impact on the reader.
ReplyDeleteThere is not much that should be fixed on this report because it was concise and intriguing. The second paragraph could have been elaborated with more connections to how this type of research will influence other fields; re-creating a live structure in a petri dish may serve as a platform that extends beyond this particular focus (such as in other animals or plants). It could also mean that schools could use this technique in their classrooms to expose young minds to an extremely prevalent study.
With all of the debate about stem cell research, it is exciting to read about a revolutionary project that does not interfere with morality. To replicate a human brain seems like such a futuristic thought, and it is scary to think about the world we are living in with all of this technology. We are the future that past generations have imagined!
Maddie,
ReplyDeleteYour article on “Human ‘Mini Brains’ Grown in Labs May Help Solve Cancer, Autism, Alzheimer’s” was a really interesting read. It honestly seems like something from a sci-fi book or movie. I thought your summary of the article was easy to follow and concise, two major components that are key to these current event reviews. Another good aspect of your review was incorporating quotes from the article.
I feel like two things you can improve on is your data incorporation and explaining the how exactly these brains form. However I realize that there isn’t really anything you can do about that since you mentioned in your essay that the article itself gave a vague generalization of how these organoids are grown. So most probably the same might be inferred about the data and observations concerning this scientific finding.
Mainly I chose this article because it displays how science really does exceed the final frontier and that no sky is the limit if there is determination and perseverance. It’s amazing to think that a bunch of brain cells can form a miniature version of our brain. The concept of synthesizing actual human organs seems foreign but with the help of technology science is advancing. With these mini brains scientists now have a more reliable specimen rather than those of other species to experiment on to understand how to conquer brain diseases.
Patterson, Thom. "Scientist: We've Grown a Nearly Full Human 'mini Brain' - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. .
Maddie’s review of her article was informative and enjoyable to read. I think that her summary of the article was spotless and helped me fully understand the topic. She cited specific conditions that the new research would help resolve, which helped towards my understanding. She also used specific examples of researchers such as Rene Anand throughout her review to back some of the evidence that she mentions, making her review more credible. She also connected the information in the article to society effectively. Her statement that “the organoids will be able to mimic brains with Alzheimer’s or cancer, and scientists will be able to see, first hand, what these diseases do to the brain” proved that she fully understood the topic and led me to realize a connection that I had not made before.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Maddie wrote a very effective review, there were a few aspects that could have been improved. If there was more information about the process of skin cells growing into brain cells added to the summary, I think that I would be able to grasp the idea better. I would also have liked to know more about other possible uses for this new research other than the direct connection with brain conditions. If she could have expanded into how this new breakthrough can impacted different fields that grow organoids for other parts of the body, it would have been even more interesting.
This review was interesting to read and I found the information easy to comprehend and fascinating. I chose it because the notion of growing brain organoids sounded important in the field of modern medicine and I wanted to know more about it. Through reading this review, my understanding of the limits of medical research has changed. While this type of research seemed impossible before, it seems that scientists and doctors are pushing the boundaries of medicine and will soon be able to help people suffering with seemingly incurable diseases around the world.
Patterson, Thom. "Scientist: We've Grown a Nearly Full Human 'mini Brain' - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/06/health/pioneers-brain-organoids/index.htm
Maddie,
ReplyDeleteYou did a good job with your review. One thing you did well was that you thoroughly summarized your article. You were able to include all the specifics without boring your audience. Another thing you did well was that you appealed to authority with specific quotes that served to assert specifics of your topic. This established credibility while building relevant knowledge, making the quotes an extremely efficient use of text. Lastly, I thought you were extremely successful in maintaining relevance by writing in respect to what the research specifically means in regards to treating cancer, autism, and alzheimer's.
Although you did a great job in your review, there were a few small areas in which you could have improved. Growing mini-human brains is an extremely revolutionary idea, and as such, I feel that including some of how this process works would have helped solidify my understanding. Similarly, some exposure regarding how these organoids are being tested would be very interesting. However, I understand that this may not have been included in your original article or may make your review too complicated. Again, great job.
I found your review especially interesting due to how advanced the process of growing a mini-human brain is. One thing I learned is that these organoids could help solve cancer, autism, and alzheimer's.
Again, great job.