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posted by martyb on Thursday November 09 2017, @11:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the have-they-not-read-HHGTTG? dept.

Tiny human brain organoids implanted into rodents, triggering ethical concerns

Minuscule blobs of human brain tissue have come a long way in the four years since scientists in Vienna discovered [DOI: 10.1038/nature12517] [DX] how to create them from stem cells.

The most advanced of these human brain organoids — no bigger than a lentil and, until now, existing only in test tubes — pulse with the kind of electrical activity that animates actual brains. They give birth to new neurons [open, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.04.032] [DX], much like full-blown brains. And they develop the six layers [open, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.09.047] [DX] of the human cortex, the region responsible for thought, speech, judgment, and other advanced cognitive functions.

These micro quasi-brains are revolutionizing research on human brain development and diseases from Alzheimer's to Zika [open, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.04.032] [DX], but the headlong rush to grow the most realistic, most highly developed brain organoids has thrown researchers into uncharted ethical waters. Like virtually all experts in the field, neuroscientist Hongjun Song of the University of Pennsylvania doesn't "believe an organoid in a dish can think," he said, "but it's an issue we need to discuss."

Those discussions will become more urgent after this weekend. At a neuroscience meeting, two teams of researchers will report implanting human brain organoids into the brains of lab rats and mice, raising the prospect that the organized, functional human tissue could develop further within a rodent. Separately, another lab has confirmed to STAT that it has connected human brain organoids to blood vessels, the first step toward giving them a blood supply.

Ethicists triggered once again.

Also at Inverse, Express, and Daily Mail (included for contrast).


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  • (Score: 2) by leftover on Friday November 10 2017, @01:34AM (4 children)

    by leftover (2448) on Friday November 10 2017, @01:34AM (#594970)

    Could we give politicians at least pea-sized brains? It would be such an improvement.

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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday November 10 2017, @01:56AM (2 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday November 10 2017, @01:56AM (#594984) Journal

    Human brain tissue is expensive. We could use pig brain instead and it will still be a non-trivial improvement.

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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 2) by choose another one on Friday November 10 2017, @09:11AM (1 child)

      by choose another one (515) Subscriber Badge on Friday November 10 2017, @09:11AM (#595071)

      Human brain tissue is expensive. We could use pig brain instead and it will still be a non-trivial improvement.

      Au contraire, it is more likely that on reflection, one will find it impossible to say which was which.

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday November 10 2017, @09:54AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday November 10 2017, @09:54AM (#595078) Journal

        Oh, please. Why do you insult pigs?

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        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday November 10 2017, @04:41PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday November 10 2017, @04:41PM (#595178) Journal

    It's not brains they lack so much as souls.

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    Washington DC delenda est.