Release date: 2016-10-09
Researchers have planted hundreds of miniature human brains in the lab, trying to use them to study mental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. And the way they cultivate these brains can be said to be surprisingly simple. These "organs" are only three to four millimeters in diameter and are similar in structure to human brains that are not yet mature. The picture shows the enlarged picture of the mini brain.
Researchers have used human skin cells to develop some pea-sized "brains." The picture shows the comparison between the developing human brain (left) and the "brain-like" (right).
Scientists use stem cells to transform skin cells into three-dimensional tissues similar to the human brain.
Why are we right-handed or left-handed? Why do we have autism? The human brain still has many unsolved mysteries. Researchers have planted hundreds of miniature human brains in the lab, trying to use them to study mental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.
On October 8th, according to foreign media reports, why are we right-handed or left-handed? Why do we have autism? The human brain still has many unsolved mysteries. Some problems can be solved by studying the brains of other animals, such as mice. But some unique problems are only encountered by the human brain, and this method is helpless.
Recently, researchers have cultivated hundreds of miniature human brains in the laboratory, trying to use them to study mental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. And the way they cultivate these brains can be said to be surprisingly simple. These mini-brains are bred by cells. The research team uses skin cells, but in fact all types of cells can.
Madeline Lancaster is a member of the Molecular Medicine Laboratory at the Cambridge Medical Research Council and is one of the scientists involved in the research. "These brains grow in exactly the same way as in the embryo," Dr. Lancaster said.
Scientists use proteins to convert these cells into stem cells, and as they grow, brain cells gradually differentiate. The researchers then interrupted the nutrients supplied to the cells, and for some unknown reason, the brain cells seemed to be the most energetic of these cells and survived. The researchers then placed the brain cells in a special gel and placed them in an incubator for cultivation.
"Our current focus is on other neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and mental retardation. We introduce the mutations found in these diseases into the mini-brain and then study on the basis of the development of 'organs' Their pathogenesis," Dr. Lancaster said.
The first "brain in the bottle" was first cultivated by stem cell scientists in 2013. These scientists hope that their findings will help us find treatments for neurological and psychiatric disorders. These "organs" are only three to four millimeters in diameter and are similar in structure to the human brain that has not yet matured. Like the normal brain, these "brains" are also divided into gray and white, and all contain specific brain regions.
Juergen Knoblich of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna isolated some induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) from the connective tissue of a microcephaly patient. Microcephaly is a rare, but extremely serious, genetic disorder. The patient's brain is much smaller than the average person and therefore suffers from severe mental disorders. Like many neurological diseases, it is difficult to study this disease in white mice because their brains are far less complex than ours.
The team used a 3D matrix scaffold that mimics the in vivo environment of human embryos and also uses a special experimental device called a rotating bioreactor to provide the brain with the nutrients and oxygen it needs. "This approach has gradually led us to understand some of the pitfalls that occur during brain development. We hope to eventually use them to study some of the more common diseases, such as schizophrenia or autism," Professor Nobridge said. "We also hope to simulate some of these flaws."
The scientists' initial goal was to develop a biological tool that could be used to study brain working mechanisms, better understand brain diseases, and test new drugs. Many researchers hope to develop a brain that is exactly the same as the human brain. However, some researchers believe that this goal is still difficult to achieve.
Dr Martin Coath of the Cognitive Research Institute at the University of Plymouth questioned how could someone try to nurture a "real" human brain? "The 'normal function' of the human brain has its own consciousness, has its own wishes and dreams, can sense pain, and asks us what we have done to it," he pointed out. "And if we can develop a brain that is much simpler than the human brain in the lab, connect it to the electronic eye, the electronic ear and the hands, teach it to do something - this has been with many simple living bodies. It's just as complicated. But in my opinion, this is not so far away."
Source: Sina Technology
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