To a certain extent, kidneys have the capacity to repair themselves after being injured, but a switch can occur from such intrinsic repair to incomplete repair that leads to irreversible damage and chronic kidney disease (CKD). A team led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) recently used kidney organoids derived from human stem cells to identify genes that are important for maintaining healthy repair in the kidneys. The findings, which are published in Science Translational Medicine, may lead to new targets to help prevent or treat CKD.