NaPoWriMo_2024_Poem4

Organoids

Take a sample of blood or skin from a patient or volunteer. This sample is not stem cells. It will be.

Apply the correctly balanced set of large, incomprehensibly complex molecules through a variety of approaches. Some of them are more dangerous than others. The cells will become like stem cells. We call them induced pluripotent stem cells.

Take these induced cells and make them happy and healthy stem cells. Then apply special baths to push them onto a specific path. Each bath can take weeks but is important that hey are clean and well fed.

If done correctly, form a ball of cells that looks quite a bit like the growing brain. Ponder the meaning of organized activity in neurons cut off from sensory information. Fall asleep at the microscope and jerk awake after dreaming of visions in the dark.