Stem Cell Channel (Audio)

Irene Litvan, MD; Don Cleveland, PhD; and David Higgins, PhD, discuss the next generation of treatments for Parkinson's Disease and offer a patient's perspective in this conversation on the cutting edge stem cell research. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 36076]

Bradley R. Cairns, PhD, discusses his lab's work creating a transcriptional cell atlas of the developing human testis during puberty, revealing dramatic developmental changes in both germ and somatic niche cell lineages. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Education] [Show ID: 35452]

Biological anthropologist Katerina Semendeferi describes how the human brain's extraordinary powers of social cognition may predispose only humans to conditions like autism and how she aids the search for the neurophysiology underlying these conditions. Series: "Women in Science" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 34330]

A short summary of one of Discover Magazine's top-ten most significant science achievements of 2019 - the discovery of complex neural signals emerging in brain organoids by Alysson Muotri's lab at UC San Diego's Stem Cell Program. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 35392]

Natural Killer - or NK - cells are one of our immune systems most potent defenses, able to attack viral infections and destroy cells that exhibit tumorigenic characteristics. UC San Diego physician Dr. Dan Kaufman, who has specialized in treating blood cancers for over 20 years now leads a research group at the UC San Diego Stem Cell program that is using induced pluripotent stem cells to generate NK cells that are targeted to destroy cancer cells. With the goal of providing safer, more effective, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapies, the methods his lab has developed are being employed in a first-of-its-kind clinical trial anywhere in the world being conducted at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 34875]

Leading voices in philosophy and neuroscience wrap up a conference on the ethics of research using brain organoids with questions from the audience. Panelists: Christof Koch, Chief Scientist and President of the Allen Institute for Brain Science; Patricia Churchland, Emerita Professor, UC San Diego;

Evan Thompson, Professor of Philosophy, University of British Columbia; and Alysson Muotri, Director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell program.

Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 35249]

Recently, some scientists have asked whether neural organoids will ever be conscious, and have wondered about the ethical implications of this possibility. Meanwhile, some philosophers have argued that neural organoids are miniature versions of “brains in vats.” Evan Thompson feels that both scientist and philosophers should shift their thinking. He argues that the minimal instantiation of sentience is organismic - not just neuronal, and that conscious processes of moral interest require embodiment and the capacity to suffer.

Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35248]

What defines consciousness? Can it develop in a petri dish? Patricia Churchland reviews the current state of brain organoid research and shares her views on how conciseness and physical structures within the brain intersect. She also cautions the media on the tendency to "over hype" new research advances. Series: "Women in Science" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35247]

As brain organoids become more widely used in research, concerns about the development of consciousness arise. Christof Koch discusses how we determine and define consciousness and how we look for the underlying physical signatures of consciousness. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 35246]

The study of brain organoids is leading to a better understanding of human development and potential therapies for neurological disorders. Yet when people hear the phrase "brain in a dish" it instantly brings to mind the stuff of science fiction - labs full of sentient brains thinking and plotting. Alysson Muotri explains why these organoids should not called "brains in a dish" and how they are being used to explain human processes previously inaccessible to study. While underscoring scientific value of these organoids, he also raises the question of what ethical questions demand an answer as the technology improves. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35245]