Artificial Thymus
Laboratory production of T cells-immune cells that grow naturally in the thymus gland-could provide new therapies against cancer, autoimmune disorders and organ transplant rejection. But they’re hard to grow in culture dishes; current methods yield too few cells of too little variety. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Woburn, MA, biotechnology firm Cell Science Therapeutics have developed an artificial thymus that solves both problems. Constructed from a porous metal-and-carbon material typically used for bone repair and arranged in a three-dimensional matrix, the structure mimics the functions of a living-tissue thymus, generating a bumper crop of T cells that can adjust to new threats. Clinical trials start in 2002, with commercial availability expected a few years later. -M. Wortman
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
OpenAI teases an amazing new generative video model called Sora
The firm is sharing Sora with a small group of safety testers but the rest of us will have to wait to learn more.
Google’s Gemini is now in everything. Here’s how you can try it out.
Gmail, Docs, and more will now come with Gemini baked in. But Europeans will have to wait before they can download the app.
This baby with a head camera helped teach an AI how kids learn language
A neural network trained on the experiences of a single young child managed to learn one of the core components of language: how to match words to the objects they represent.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.