A Journalist’s Resource tip sheet on organoids can help journalists avoid the trap of overselling what this area of tissue research is and isn’t. Organoids are tissue models grown in a lab that can help scientists understand how the cells differentiate, grow, interact and respond to experimental intervention.
They aren’t quite complete organs — so it wouldn’t be accurate to say researchers are “growing brains” or “growing lungs” in a Petri dish — but organoids share enough basic characteristics with the organ they model that they can provide valuable insight into understanding how actual brains or lungs work or respond to interventions.
The tip sheet covers the basics health journalists need to know when writing about organoids:
- General background information
- What organoids actually are
- How scientists create/grow organoids
- What organoids cannot do/show
- Important caveats to consider while reporting on organoids research
