Alternative methods to animal studies

When the cells’ power plants don’t function properly, life expectancy is low. Otherwise, little is known about Leigh syndrome. Using organoids, researchers in Düsseldorf and Berlin have now created the first human model for studying this rare disease. They are presenting their work in “Nature Communications”.

The European Research Council (ERC) awarded Dr. Mina Gouti a €2.8 million Consolidator Grant to further develop miniature neuromuscular organoids for studying neuromuscular development and diseases. It was the second honor in as many weeks; she was also named an EMBO Young Investigator for her work.

At MDC, we do research to promote human health and well-being. In our labs we employ cell cultures, organoids and computer models. We seek and develop alternatives to animal experiments. It remains a fact that, biomedical research is not possible without animal experiments. Our researchers tell us why.

The board of the Einstein Foundation approved the preliminary stage of a new Einstein Center for the development of alternative methods for animal testing in biomedical research. The aim of the planned center is to reduce or replace animal experiments. It will be established in cooperation with the MDC.

Dr. Jana Wolf heads the Mathematical Modeling of Cellular Processes Lab at the MDC. On June 15 she will begin a professorship at FU Berlin . She looks forward to exchanging expertise and ideas with her new colleagues – and to leveraging this knowledge to develop new medical models.

MDC researchers established a new model to study neuromuscular development and disorders. For the first time two distinct human tissues co-developed in the lab from one progenitor cell type and self-organized into a complex, functional neuromuscular organoid.

A new technology platform at the Max Delbrück Center is using human stem cells to develop complex tissue cultures known as “organoids.” This enables researchers to gain a better understanding of disease processes by simulating them in 3D. Neuronal diseases will be modeled first and then other diseases.

There are people who are open about the fact that they conduct experiments on animals – and claim they have good reasons for doing so. On November 5 in Berlin’s Urania theater, they fielded questions from the general public and injected reason into a debate often driven by emotion.