Body of Knowledge: Self-Organizing Brain Cells
Body of Knowledge: Self-Organizing Brain Cells
Collections: Image Award Winners
2017 Award Winner
Collin Edington, Iris Lee, Linda Griffith
Koch Institute at MIT, MIT Department of Biological Engineering
Imagine a uniform field of neural stem cells sitting on gel-like matrix. Slowly, they begin to differentiate, grouping and clustering together until they have self-assembled into a mini-organ—a brain!
The neurons (green) and astrocytes (red) seen here are part of the Griffith Lab's “Human on a Chip" project. Many different “mini-organs” are linked together in a bioreactor platform, allowing researchers to study the interactions of multiple organs and the crosstalk between them in an in vitro setting, and to accelerate the development of novel disease treatments.
![pink oblong cell cluster and long green cells extending radially](/files/images/styles/exhibit_full/public/imce/exhibits/2017/edington-lee-3-768.jpg?itok=_WZOcwhq)
Video
Collin Edington and Iris Lee describe the science behind their image. You can also watch the presentation from the exhibition opening event on March 23, 2017 here.