Scientists Grow Human Brain Tissue From Stem Cells

Scientists say that they had used stem cells to grow human brain tissue for use in studying disorders and early development of this most complex of organs. They used the cells to grow what they dubbed" cerebral organoids"- pea-sized blobs of 3D brain tissue in a petri dish, with characteristics of early embroynic brain tissue. The test may reduce reliance of scientists on mouse brain, which is a poor model for research into human diseases and treatment, the team wrote in the journal Nature. "Development of human brain is very different from development, for example, of mouse brain" study coordinator Juergen of the Austrian Academy of Sciences told. The study sdhould help biologists study 'human specific' features of human brain development and diseases, he told. It was also hoped the method would allow researchers "test drugs directly in human a setting and thereby avoid animal experiments and get more informed results that are more easily transferrable to human patients, said Juergen. Stem cell reseasrchers have made progress to create 3D tissues of other human organs including heart and the liver, but brain has remained elusive.