Aided by advanced stem cell technology and tissue chips, National Institutes of Health-funded researchers used stem cells originally derived from a person’s skin to recreate interactions between blood vessels and neurons that may occur early in the formation of the fetal human spinal cord. The results published in Stem Cell Reports suggest that the system can mimic critical parts of the human nervous system, raising the possibility that it may one day, be used to test personalized treatments of neurological disorders.
Learn more: ALS researchers begin recreating human spinal cords on a chip