Tiny human brains implanted into mice
scientists implant tiny human brain organoids into the heads of mice
(Web Desk) – In an unprecedented move, scientists at the Salk Institute implanted tiny human brain organoids into the heads of mice.
What they observed was the mice looked and behaved like ordinary mice, while supplying blood and nutrients to keep human brains developing for months.
Researchers created the human cerebral organoids to study schizophrenia, but the technique could be used for much more in the future, like serving as cortical repair kits for people with brain injuries or developmental problems.
Scientists created the first human brain organoids from stem cells in 2013. Since then, "scientists have gotten them to form structures like those in the brains of fetuses, to sprout dozens of different kinds of brain cells, and to develop abnormalities like those causing neurological disases," explained Stat News. Researchers hope the organoids will help demonstrate how the human brain develops normally and when problems arise.
Previously, human organoids didn t last longer than five weeks, when nutrients and oxygen could no longer reach their innermost cells.
