Biomedical research has relied heavily on laboratory animals for decades, but scientists are developing increasingly sophisticated alternatives based directly on human biology.
NIH announced major investments exceeding $88 million to expand infrastructure for human-based experimental models. One planned research facility will combine standardized human organoids with robotics, artificial intelligence and advanced data technology.
Organoids are miniature three-dimensional structures grown from cells under carefully controlled laboratory conditions. They are designed to reproduce some important characteristics of real human organs.
Researchers can now develop organoid models resembling aspects of the brain, intestine, liver, kidney, lungs and other tissues.
These models are not complete miniature humans, nor are they perfect replicas of full organs. However, they can provide researchers with an experimental environment containing human cells and tissue structures.
This is important because animals and humans do not always respond to diseases or medicines in identical ways. A treatment that works successfully in mice, for example, may later fail during human clinical trials.
Better human-based experimental systems could allow researchers to identify some of these differences earlier.
Animal research will not disappear immediately. Whole organisms remain necessary for answering many questions involving complex interactions among organs, immune systems and behaviour.
Instead, organoids and organ-on-chip technologies could reduce the number of animal experiments required while improving the biological relevance of some studies.
Combined with AI and laboratory automation, these technologies could eventually allow thousands of highly controlled experiments to be performed on human-derived biological models.
