Ep. 150: “Brain Organoids in Space” Featuring Dr. Alysson Muotri

Guest:

Dr. Alysson Muotri is a Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, and Co-Director of the UCSD Stem Cell Program. His research focuses on modeling neurological diseases using human iPSCs, and he is leading a project investigating the effect of microgravity on human brain organoids.

Featured Products and Resources:

• STEMdiff™ Cerebral Organoid Kit
• Organoid Research Resources

Resources and Links

Detecting an Unreported Zika Outbreak using Genetics – By sequencing Zika virus and analyzing travel patterns, a previously unreported 2017 Zika outbreak in Cuba has been identified.

Ketogenic Diet Supports Intestinal Stem Cell Proliferation – Researchers have found that ketone bodies enhance the activity of intestinal stem cells, while a glucose-rich diet has the opposite effect.

Cancer Cells ‘Corrupt’ Their Healthy Neighbours – Scientists have developed a technique whereby metastatic cancer cells release a cell-penetrating fluorescent protein, allowing them to study the tumor microenvironment.

3D Heart Cell-on-Chip Platform – Investigators have developed an organ-on-an-electronic-chip platform, which uses biosensors to measure the electrophysiology of 3D cardiac spheroids.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Alysson Muotri