Modelling the Heart in a Dish

How heart organoids and hearts-on-chips are revolutionizing the way we study the heart

Image by April Sui

Heart Organoids: Modelling the Heart in a Dish

To start, let’s tackle what organoids are. Put simply, they’re 3D structures that model human organs in a lab. They’re also grown from stem cells; stem cells are unspecialized cell types that haven’t become a specific cell type yet. There are different types of stem cells, with the two most widely talked about being pluripotent and adult stem cells.

The Promises and Downfalls of Organoids

We’ve already discussed some of the benefits of heart organoids but what about organoids more generally? For one, regular cell culture — which is 2D — isn’t nearly as similar to the human heart, making modelling much less accurate. As well, cell cultures usually only look at one or two cell types.

A Step Further: Hearts-on-Chips

While heart organoids are amazing and offer a myriad of benefits for research, scientists have recently explored even newer options for studying heart disease. So let’s take a look at the heart-on-a-chip model.

About the Author

Parmin Sedigh is a 17-year-old stem cell and science communications enthusiast as well as a student researcher, based in Kingston, ON. She’s currently the VP of Communications at Eye Hope Canada. You can usually find her on her computer following her curiosity. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Ontario Youth Medical Society is a student-led, non-profit organization focused on educating youth and making a difference in medicine.

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Ontario Youth Medical Society

Ontario Youth Medical Society is a student-led, non-profit organization focused on educating youth and making a difference in medicine.