Scientists Grow 'Mini-Brain On the Move' That Can Contract Muscle (theguardian.com) 84
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Scientists have grown a miniature brain in a dish with a spinal cord and muscles attached, an advance that promises to accelerate the study of conditions such as motor neurone disease. The lentil-sized grey blob of human brain cells were seen to spontaneously send out tendril-like connections to link up with the spinal cord and muscle tissue, which was taken from a mouse. The muscles were then seen to visibly contract under the control of the so-called brain organoid. The research is is the latest in a series of increasingly sophisticated approximations of the human brain grown in the laboratory -- this time with something approaching a central nervous system attached.
The scientists used a new method to grow the miniature brain from human stem cells, which allowed the organoid to reach a more sophisticated stage of development than previous experiments. The latest blob shows similarities, in terms of the variety of neurons and their organisation, to the human foetal brain at 12-16 weeks of pregnancy. However, the scientists said the structure was still too small and primitive to have anything approaching thoughts, feelings or consciousness. While a fully developed human brain has 80-90 billion neurons, the organoid has a couple of million, placing it somewhere between a cockroach and a zebrafish in terms of volume of grey matter. After growing the organoid, the scientists "used a tiny vibrating blade to cut it into half millimeter-thick slices which were placed on a membrane, floating on a nutrient-rich liquid," reports The Guardian. "This meant the entire slice had access to energy and oxygen and it continued developing and forming new connections when it was kept in culture for a year. Alongside the organoid, the scientists added in a 1mm-long spinal cord, taken from a mouse embryo, and the surrounding back muscle. The brain cells automatically began to send out neuronal connections, linked up with the spinal cord and began sending electrical impulses, which caused the muscles to twitch."
The study has been published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
The scientists used a new method to grow the miniature brain from human stem cells, which allowed the organoid to reach a more sophisticated stage of development than previous experiments. The latest blob shows similarities, in terms of the variety of neurons and their organisation, to the human foetal brain at 12-16 weeks of pregnancy. However, the scientists said the structure was still too small and primitive to have anything approaching thoughts, feelings or consciousness. While a fully developed human brain has 80-90 billion neurons, the organoid has a couple of million, placing it somewhere between a cockroach and a zebrafish in terms of volume of grey matter. After growing the organoid, the scientists "used a tiny vibrating blade to cut it into half millimeter-thick slices which were placed on a membrane, floating on a nutrient-rich liquid," reports The Guardian. "This meant the entire slice had access to energy and oxygen and it continued developing and forming new connections when it was kept in culture for a year. Alongside the organoid, the scientists added in a 1mm-long spinal cord, taken from a mouse embryo, and the surrounding back muscle. The brain cells automatically began to send out neuronal connections, linked up with the spinal cord and began sending electrical impulses, which caused the muscles to twitch."
The study has been published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
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Now think of how early in pregnancy a human fetus would have that stage of brain development. Kind of illuminates the abortion debate in a whole new way, doesn't it.
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Most of the people against abortion don't care how developed the mind and brain of a cow or pig is. It's all rather arbitrary.
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those are not human life, and our ancestors were cooking meat 250,000 years ago if not 1.8 million years ago, it's natural.
Re: Ye Olde Politizzianze, Trump Anyone? (Score:2, Insightful)
A pregnant woman knows how developed the thing inside her is, and it's her right to choose, not you, and not a "gung ho abortionist" that supposedly doesn't know better than you about fetal development.
This is the truth, everybody has seen "your baby at X weeks is the size of a Y" in magazines, online, doctor's office, everywhere. Suggesting the people actually having the procedure done to themselves don't know, or that it's an easy decision to make, goes to show you don't have any skin in the game at all,
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And, very few liberals - and close to no progressives - believe that we own our own bodies.
After all - individual ownership of owns body is antithetical to the nanny state.
Getting old (Score:3, Funny)
This filled me more with terror than awe. Guess it's time to start yelling at clouds.
Re:Getting old (Score:5, Interesting)
I found it scary as well. How long before they are able to culture a lizard's brain? A mouse? A dog's? Then ....
Re: So obviously it's a 1:1 model... (Score:2, Funny)
Consider that despite being a moron he still crushed Hillary in the election, best economy in modern times, knocked the Chinese off kilter, did not give billions of dollars to a terrorist state, say there are 57 states or refer to his tranny wife as Michael multiple times during interviews and speeches.
I did not vote for him but compared to the alternative and previous office holders he is doing ok in my book.
Re: Lol you didn't vote for him, suuure Bubba. (Score:1)
Against him, losing by 0.01% is sill utter humiliation.
But you can keep the "popular vote" participation medal.
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The formula involves dividing by the number of electoral votes to gauge the relative value of any particular voter. Some votes are worth more than others due to population differences. It's too bad math is too hard for liberals or this whole thing could be explained to them, but as it is, we're stuck with ignorant people whining about the same thing forever. LOL
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47% is "crushed" lol?
Yeah, according to the rules of the game they were playing. Not my fault Queen Hillary and her fans are too stupid to even not bring a basketball to a game of football.
Re: Crushing in Elections (Score:1, Interesting)
I'm not rich and my taxes are dramatically less.
In fact, it was a tax increase on the rich. Not allowing you champaign socialists to keep bilking the rest of America with local and state tax write-offs was brilliant, and obviously the real reason you're angry.
Sorry. We won't subsidize your outrageous tax schemes anymore. Welcome to reality.
The description is amazing - and unnerving (Score:1)
I just hope they don't accidently create a face hugger ala Aliens, or some other malicous organism.
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Krang
cruel, just cruel (Score:1, Insightful)
They're making some huge assumptions that it can't think and therefore justify to themselves and us that it's okay for them to slice and dice and torture this being they have created... They should at least have the guts to say "yeah we're being horrific but we're learning a lot".
Sick cowards :-(
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They assert feelings and thoughts aren't present despite motor movement. What is motor movement began in the brain if not a thought through the appropriate neurons? What are feelings but electrochemical stimulus and states?
I've seen a snake open and close it's mouth for 5 minutes straight after it's head was cut off. Cut the head off of a chicken far enough up that part of the brain stem remains and it will keep walking around. Mike the Headless chicken "lived" for almost 2 years after being beheaded. To quote the wikipedia article
It was determined that the axe had missed the jugular vein and a clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was severed, most of his brain stem and one ear were left on his body. Since basic functions (breathing, heart rate, etc.) as well as most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem, Mike was able to remain quite healthy. This is a good example of central motor generators enabling basic homeostatic functions to be carried out in the absence of higher brain centres
People in persistent vegetative states have reflexive movements as well. The body is amazing, and will continue to try to keep itself alive even in the absence of higher cognitive function or
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What are feelings but electrochemical stimulus and states?
Your computer also has electrical stimulus and states. Does it have feelings as well ?
Do we really need ... (Score:2)
.... multi-core organisms? Why don't we just drink coffee and overclock the ones we have?
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.... multi-core organisms? Why don't we just drink coffee and overclock the ones we have?
Aww, but I wanna be both!
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Aww, but I wanna be both!
You should probably strap a bunch of heat-sinks to the sides of your head first.
Re: Interesting (Score:1)
Sure but how many neurons are required for self awareness? We truly have no fucking clue. It could be a few hundred thousand in which case we have created life in a dish so we can torture it. (My degree is in neuroanatomy. We really dont know a whole lot.)
The whole thing makes me feel vaguely ill.
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But I sympathize with your comparison
Hey /. ~ In Relation To Trump (Score:1)
Hey Slashdot,
Do us all a favor, instill a way to curb these chuckleheads who have nothing on their mind but posting pathetic political figure jokes, over the likes of Trump or anyone else for that matter, to an unrelated story such as this. It's a real turn off to even want to get involved in any discussion here. Talk about mini brains.
Seriously you guys need to get a life. Only you care about Trump.
Never have I seen such a mental obsession over someone go so far.
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Brain AND muscle ? (Score:2)
Now that is a powerful combination ! I wish more humans were like that, "loaded with both".
Still I would not like to have to chase after that thing when the brain will figure out that the experiment will be finished and command the muscle to jump out of the dish.
Empowered ignorance (Score:1)
A case of technological prowess in the hands of the ill informed. Specifically:
"... the scientists said the structure was still too small and primitive to have anything approaching thoughts, feelings or consciousness."
But they do not know that for a fact. This isn't about foetal rights, this is about accuracy and honesty in research. The scientists are being duplicitous in order to be able to continue their research. And that is the unnerving part about all of this. Why not be honest and say "w
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The scientists are being duplicitous in order to be able to continue their research.
Of course they are, they're trying to cure motor neuron disease! Ethical constraints could really throw a monkey wrench in their plans to develop a cure for a debilitating group of disorders; they're beating around the bush for a damn good reason. At least they're growing a brain in a lab rather than cutting apart living human volunteers. This isn't the kind of biological research that can be performed on cadavers, after all.
Also, consider this: Yes, the brain they grew *MIGHT* have feelings. However, w
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As someone whose wife died from ALS, thank you for saying this.
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Pickle Rick! (Score:1)
Obviously they watch Rick and Morty too. I doubt they where able to turn themselves in to pickles though.
Another step closer ... (Score:2)
Coming to an AI system (Score:1)
It begins (1656) (Score:2)
So that's how Mother Brain gets born. Someone call Samus Aran, NOW!
Awesome, but... (Score:1)
"Organoid" (Score:2)
That term just hits my funny bone for some odd reason. That'd be an awesome name for a monster from a sci-fi horror movie, sounds a little better than just, "The Thing" I suppose.
Supersoldiers (Score:2)
We can use this tech to create supersoldiers with embedded mini brains in their arms (faster reaction times for operating weapons,ships) as well as a backup brain in the gut to keep fighting if headshot.
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