System Bits: Jan. 12


Coaxing human stem cells to form human organs In a step toward personalized drug testing, MIT researchers have coaxed human stem cells to form complex tissues in a new technique, which also has near-term implications for growing organ-like tissues on a chip and that may ultimately allow personalized organs to be grown for transplant patients. The researchers said growing organs on demand, u... » read more

System Bits: Aug. 26


Heart-on-a-chip Megan McCain, a USC Viterbi assistant professor in biomedical engineering is a self proclaimed cardiac tissue engineer. She is working to re-create the human heart on a chip. Not the kind of chip that leads to arterial plaque, of course, but the kind that perfectly re-creates the cardiac cells and mechanical forces of the human heart. A slice of glass, the size of a quarter, ti... » read more