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Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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In Ohio, a team of researchers has grown a replica of a brain in a test tube that matches that of a five-week-old embryo.
To bring their idea to life, the scientists took the most accurate map of the brain that exists to date, and they also needed a large number of donor mature skin cells.
The experts called the brain copy a brain organoid and it took four years and a lot of research to create it. The research team was led by Rene Ananda. The goal of the work was not only to present the scientific community with a copy of the human brain grown in a laboratory, but also to get rid of the ethnic problems that arise when using a real human brain for research purposes.
At the beginning of their work, Ananda's team selected adult donor skin cells, which they tried to return to the pluripotency stage using various stimulation methods. As a result, the scientists obtained stem cells that, in 12 weeks, turned into a fully functional organ.
In three months, scientists were able to grow a copy of the brain in the laboratory, the size of a pencil eraser, but despite its tiny size, it contained 99% of the genes present in a 5-week-old embryo.
According to Rene Ananda, in order for the gene set to become 100%, the brain organoid needs to develop to 16-20 weeks.
It is worth noting that this organoid is the closest to a real organ, in comparison with previous analogues that were created in laboratory conditions. The brain organoid has all the main areas - the spinal cord, various types of cells, the retina, the signal circuit. At this stage, the artificial brain does not have a vascular system, which limits the growth possibilities, but due to microglia, oligodendrocytes, axons, dendrites, astrocytes, the organoid transmits chemical signals almost the same way as a real organ.
The group of researchers noted that the artificial model could help in conducting complex clinical trials of various drugs. In addition, they suggested that an artificial brain that is as close as possible to the real one would help to study in more detail the causes of disorders in the central nervous system, and would also be useful in genetic experiments.
Such statements by Rene Ananda have caused a mixed reaction from the scientific community. First of all, a number of experts noted that the results of the work were not published in any scientific journal.
Professor Knoblich of the Austrian University of Molecular Biotechnology grew a similar brain structure two years ago, but it lacked the midbrain. As Knoblich noted, Ananda's group did not present the functionality of their organoid.
Another brain scientist says the only way to test the reality of Ananda's group's claims is to genetically test some of the cells and parts of the organoid. There is currently no evidence that such testing has been done, and scientists doubt that the organoid actually contains 99 percent of the genes.
In addition, scientists doubt the existing neural connections that the researchers have stated, and now Rene Anand needs to prepare a scientific paper and show the progress of his experimental work.