Brain grown in lab

While the article implies many scientists are skeptical (and for good reason), it is real. I just don't know how useful it will be for testing drugs, etc to try to treat disease. The brain is the size of a pencil eraser, and does not have a blood supply, so can't yet be grown any bigger. Drugs given orally need to enter the blood stream and then the brain (through the blood brain barrier). Plus, this brain in a dish is in isolation from the rest of the body. I guess we'll see how useful it will be. This is not yet published data but it is extremely interesting!
 
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While the article implies many scientists are skeptical (and for good reason), it is real. I just don't know how useful it will be for testing drugs, etc to try to treat disease. The brain is the size of a pencil eraser, and does not have a blood supply, so can't yet be grown any bigger. Drugs given orally need to enter the blood stream and then the brain (through the blood brain barrier). Plus, this brain in a dish is in isolation from the rest of the body. I guess we'll see how useful it will be. This is not yet published data but it is extremely interesting!

Sure, and presumably they will continue to develop it, figuring out new ways to expand. Gotta start somewhere!
 
Sure, and presumably they will continue to develop it, figuring out new ways to expand. Gotta start somewhere!

Absolutely! And isn't it so fascinating that this may be the type of research that leads to a better understanding of the brain and consciousness? Like, this is something out of science fiction.. growing a brain. Neurowizards.This is the type of stuff I was reading about when I was young and hoping I'd be alive to see.


Interesting. But how can they really make the claim that this tiny brain isn't conscious?

I think they make the assumption under the paradigm they live by. It probably didn't require the same type of understanding of consciousness we deal with here as they said it, "resembles that of a five-week-old foetus," and "The ethical concerns were non-existent, said Anand. 'We don’t have any sensory stimuli entering the brain. This brain is not thinking in any way.'" So the brain is presumably pretty much growing based on genetics without the lend in from environmental concerns, yet. Obviously there will always be some atmosphere of nutrients that is from the environment, but they seemed to try with the least amount possible and see if they could just grow the meat.

But, they're the ones making the brain using their method so it's kind of their call to say if it has consciousness or not. As far as their idea of conciousness and how it is achieved this brain does not have what it takes lol Perhaps not in the grand scheme of things, if this doesn't pan out, but people always want cures for this & that and this could be a good start to testing drugs on human brains without the need for a (possibly) conscious brain to receive the side effects :P
 
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