US scientists have for the first time used stem cells to grow the key connectors used by the brain to communicate and control muscles in the body. The laboratory grown neuromuscular junctions between human
muscle cells and human spinal cord cells is a critical step in developing “human-on-a-chip” systems. The systems are models that recreate how organs or a series of organs function in the body. Their use could accelerate medical research and drug testing, potentially delivering life-saving breakthroughs much more quickly than the typical 10-year trajectory most drugs take now to get through animal and patient trials. “These types of systems have to be developed if you ever want to get to a human-on-a-chip that recreates human function,” said James Hickman, a bioengineer at the University of Central Florida, who led the breakthrough research. “It’s taken many trials over a number of years to get this to occur using human derived stem cells.” The goal of the call for action is to produce systems that include various miniature organs connected in realistic ways to simulate human body function. Soon, 'human-on-a-chip' systems to recreate human function - Indian Express
