Scientists develop 3-D tissue culture models to mimic human gut infections

Vaccines and antimicrobials have done more to transform medicine and extend the average human lifespan than any other scientific breakthrough. Yet infectious diseases remain the world’s no. 1 leading cause of death of children and young adults. Now, with emerging epidemic threats like Zika, Ebola, SARS, TB and others, massive increases in antimicrobial resistance, and the time and cost for developing new antimicrobial drugs and therapeutics, scientists are worried about finding ever new ways to outpace infectious diseases. One exciting approach to address this problem is the use of predictive tissue culture models that can more accurately reflect how our own bodies respond to pathogens. The historical lack of such sophisticated models has greatly slowed the ability to understand infectious disease from both the host and pathogen perspective. Central to the development of tissue models that can better predict how humans respond to infection is the understanding that cells and tissues in our...