--- title: Breast Cancer Breakthrough: First 3D Breast Tissue Grown in Lab Dish description: Technically, it’s breast tissue but it develops in a lab culture the same way it would in a teen hitting puberty. And it could help scientists to better understand how the breast develops and what happens when things go awry in breast cancer canonical: https://time.com/3919261/growing-a-breast-in-a-dish/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-12T17:43:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:15.236Z article:section: Health og:title: Researchers Grow a Breast In a Dish og:description: Technically, it’s breast tissue but it develops in a lab culture the same way it would in a teen hitting puberty. And it could help scientists to better understand how the breast develops and what happens when things go awry in breast cancer og:url: https://time.com/3919261/growing-a-breast-in-a-dish/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Researchers Grow a Breast In a Dish twitter:description: Technically, it’s breast tissue but it develops in a lab culture the same way it would in a teen hitting puberty. And it could help scientists to better understand how the breast develops and what happens when things go awry in breast cancer twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Researchers Grow a Breast In a Dish > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=daf81d72-797e-4214-928a-dd8f156f5365&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Explains: Cancer Screenings [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Explains: Cancer Screenings](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pAMu9cRG.m3u8) (1:51)  _Published 2012-10-01. TIME's Alice Park explains how new cancer screening recommendations effect you_  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jun 12, 2015 5:43 PM UTC  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jun 12, 2015 5:43 PM UTC For the first time, scientists have taken healthy breast cells from women and isolated the stem cells that can recreate major breast structures—including the milk-feeding ducts and structures that actually produce breast milk. In a new paper in the journal _Development,_ they report that they’ve set up a model for studying how normal breast tissue develops during puberty, and, in coming months, expect to introduce mutations in these cells to study how they might develop cancer. Starting with breast tissue from women who have had breast reduction surgery, Dr. Christina Scheel, from the Helmholtz Center for Health and Environmental Research, and her colleagues managed to isolate the few stem cells within them that are responsible for generating the new breast tissue that results in the breast’s constant remodeling during puberty, at each menstrual cycle and with each pregnancy. Only one in about 2,000 of these cells are stem cells, but by mixing up a more nurturing culture solution, they were able to increase the growth of these cells by five-fold, and before their eyes the cells began to form the branchlike structures that serve as the duct network of the breast. With other adjustments, Scheel was also able to promote the growth of the cluster-like cells that produce milk. By labeling the initial stem cell, they saw that all of the complex structures in the breast remarkably arose from a single cell, guided by the right developmental instructions. “\[During puberty,\] the normal breast tissue grows \[aggressively\] into the surrounding connective tissue,” says Scheel. “The cells push forward into the surrounding tissue almost like an invasive tumor but in a very controlled process.” The fact that the normal breast tissue growth is so intense is leading Scheel to next study whether breast cancer might result from some loss of this very controlled regulation of breast tissue growth, similar to a car without brakes. She and her team also found that when they grew the breast stem cells on a more rigid platform, the cells grew more aggressively and acted more tumor-like compared to when they were grown on a more flexible, softer framework. That may explain why women with dense breasts, which contain more connective tissue, tend to have higher rates of breast cancer. “This model will allow us to better study normal breast development, and then to understand the first steps that predispose women to developing tumors,” she says. ### You Asked: Your Top 10 Health Questions Answered  You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy? Potions that claim to clear your body of toxins might sound alluring, but do they deliver? Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Eating Dessert Really That Bad For Me? Bad news for sweet-eaters—except if you end your meals with this kind of treat. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth? Yes, teeth whitening actually works—but here's why you have to dish out major bucks to see results. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Meditation Really Worth It? From easing stress to lowering heart disease risk, focusing your mind can do some amazing things for your body. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Healthiest Sweetener? Take a taste of the unsettled science of sweeteners. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Should I Go Paleo? The pros and cons of eating like a caveman. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Cracking Your Knuckles Bad? Here's what really happens to your joints when you snap, crackle and pop. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Running on a Treadmill as Good as Running Outside? You'll fool your body into thinking it's outside with this one small treadmill tweak. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Does Laughing Have Real Health Benefits? Here's proof that everybody could use a belly laugh. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What Is My Poo Telling Me? If you listen hard enough, you'll hear all kinds of health stories from #2. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME ## Transcript In recent months, public health experts have said that not everyone should get screened for cancer, but that doesn't mean that you don't need to be screened. Here is what you need to know. [ MUSIC ] It used to be relatively straight forward that getting screened for cancer was a good way to prevent the disease. But a government group called the US Preventive Services Task Force has recently said that women, for example, Don't need to get mammograms until they're age 50, which is a full decade after previous recommendations had suggested that women get screened. And for men they now say that they don't need to get the blood test PSA which screens for prostate cancer at all. What hasn't changed is the idea that getting screened can prevent cancer. What has changed is the fact that we're better at calculating the risks and benefits of that screening. Lets take breast cancer for example, mammograms are actually x- rays, and so therefore expose women to a small dose of radiation each time they get screened. In addition, not every screening test is 100 % perfect, so they'll pick up. Some false positives, which means cancers that aren't really there. And that can lead to additional procedures, tests, and even surgery, which comes with its own complications. This is particularly true in prostate cancer which is such a slow growing cancer that most men are likely to outlive it. When the panel analyzed these costs and benefits They realized that the benefits did not outweigh the cost of having everyone screened. This doesn't mean that cancer screening is completely obsolete, however. The burden has really shifted to the patents to bring this up with their doctors and to talk about their individual risks for cancer. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3919261/growing-a-breast-in-a-dish/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3919261/growing-a-breast-in-a-dish/"},"headline":"Researchers Grow a Breast In a Dish","datePublished":"2015-06-12T17:43:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:15.236Z","description":"Technically, it’s breast tissue but it develops in a lab culture the same way it would in a teen hitting puberty. 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