Nearly fully formed human brain grown in laboratory [from reprogrammed skin cells]

The Telegraph ^ | 8/18/15

[markomalley]

A near-complete human brain comparable with that of a five-week-old foetus has been grown in a laboratory dish. The brain "organoid" was created from reprogrammed skin cells and is about the size of a pencil eraser.

Scientists hope the lumpy mass of functioning nerve cells and fibres will prove to be a valuable research tool for non-animal testing of new drugs and investigating brain disorders such as Alzheimer's.

As well as neurons and their signal-carrying projections – axons and dendrites – the "brain" also contains support and immune cells. It has 99 per cent of the genes present in the fetal brain, a rudimentary spinal cord, and even the beginnings of an "eye".

Lead researcher Professor Rene Anand, from Ohio State University, said: "It not only looks like the developing brain, its diverse cell types express nearly all genes like a brain.

"We've struggled for a long time trying to solve complex brain disease problems that cause tremendous pain and suffering. The power of this brain model bodes very well for human health because it gives us better and more relevant options to test and develop therapeutics other than rodents."

[Flick Lives]

Article mentions the beginning formation of an eye

[To Hell With Poverty]

Good point. Also, I don’t believe there is any activity at 5 weeks, well no discernable brain waves anyway. Enough to begin the heart beat but not much else. Not that that makes this any less slippery of a creepy creepy slope.

[Charles Martel]

"I will not play in God's domain."

[tbw2]

The problem with this research is that because we know of the sale of fetal body parts, there’s doubt as to whether it was really created from adult stem cells from scratch or a fetal brain developed to a greater point.