Scientists may have be on their way to growing human brains

October 23, 2018  22:08

According to a report published today in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts have grown a 3D human tissue model that mimics "structural and functional features of the brain" and demonstrates "neural activity".

Brain tissue cells have been grown and cultured in two-dimensional models, but they don't have the complexity of a natural neural network.

3D models that have successfully been grown have, until now, been missing a key ingredient — neurons sourced from living humans.

It's difficult to convince someone living to part with their brain tissue, but a bit of skin? Not so much.

And with advances in stem cell technology, we just took a step down the road toward building a fresh brain out of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that can be taken from many sources, including skin.

Full article: http://uk.businessinsider.com/scientists-may-have-figured-out-how-to-grow-a-human-brain-2018-10

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