Scientist says he has grown tiny but near-complete human brain in lab

A tiny yet almost fully-formed human brain has been grown in a lab for the first time, claim scientists from Ohio State University.

The team behind the feat hope the brain could transform our understanding of neurological disease.

Though not conscious, the miniature brain, which resembles that of a five-week-old foetus, could potentially be useful for scientists who want to study the progression of developmental diseases. It could also be used to test drugs for conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, since the regions they affect are in place during an early stage of brain development.

The brain, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, is engineered from adult human skin cells and is the most complete human brain model yet developed, claimed Rene Anand of Ohio State University, Columbus, who presented the work today at the Military Health System Research Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Previous attempts at growing whole brains have at best achieved “cerebral organoids” that were not complete and only contained certain aspects of the brain. “We have grown the entire brain from the get-go,” said Anand.

Anand and his colleagues claim to have reproduced 99 per cent of the brain’s diverse cell types and genes. They say their brain also contains a spinal cord, signalling circuitry and even a retina.