Japanese scientists have grown a kind of mini-brain in the laboratory. Pluripotent stem cells, that is, cells that can be turned into any living tissue by placing them in a special environment, served as the material for the construction.
This brain did not have any blood vessels or other tissues characteristic of a normal brain, only tissue with neuronal cells. And these cells were able to create functioning networks.
At the same time, Japanese scientists assure that we are by no means talking about the thought process, but only "basic neural activity" is shown.
The team, led by researchers at Kyoto University, published their paper on the mini-brain this week in the journal Reports Stem Cell.
The cells were placed in a dish containing a medium suitable for the growth of brain tissue. When these organelles developed, one could see the activity of their neurons and how they create networks and connections among themselves.
Such organelles (artificially grown organs) can also be useful for studying memory processes and even the mechanisms of development of psychiatric diseases.
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However, there are ethical issues here too.
However, the researchers say it is an unlikely scenario that primitive laboratory organelles will develop consciousness.
