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Scientists have managed to create a miniature artificial brain
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Specialists from European medical laboratories have managed to grow a miniature human brain in a test tube. In the future, new technologies will allow for detailed research into hereditary diseases, diseases of the nervous system, and the development of such diseases as schizophrenia or autism. British popular science publications have printed information that the latest research is the next level in the development of embryology.
Embryology is a science that studies the developmental features of the embryo – any animal organism that is at stages before birth. Research conducted at European universities will help to understand the features of the origin and development of any living organism.
The artificial brain grown by scientists from Europe is no different from the brain of a tiny embryo: the structure of the brain, the number of layers of nerve cells - is no different from the human brain. The basis for the development of an artificial human brain are cells that can subsequently be transformed into nerve cell tissue. In the future, the use of artificial tissues will allow a more humane study of not only the general processes of development of a living organism, but also the detailed development of individual organs of the embryo. Some scientists believe that new technologies will have a positive effect on the development of new methods for testing drugs that are used at the earliest stages of development of a living organism.
Previous studies by American scientists have shown that it is possible to create identical copies of human internal organs in a test tube. The work of scientists from California was devoted to the ability of stem cells to independently create nerve fiber tissue. In just a few months, stem cells created a small semblance of brain cells that could function without outside interference. Researchers from Austria and East Germany, who took part in the latest experiments, reported that the artificially created brain cannot yet think, but at the moment it functionally corresponds to the brain of a fifteen-week-old human embryo.
To create an artificial brain, the researchers used stem cells and adult human skin, which were used as a material for the formation of nerve cells. The structure of the obtained samples is as close as possible to the structure of the brain of a human embryo. The tissues of the artificial brain are clearly divided into the cerebral cortex, retina, and a special structure that produces cerebrospinal fluid. The main goal of the study is not only the possibility of creating a full-fledged artificial brain, but also the possibility of a more detailed study of diseases of the nervous system. Researchers believe that new technologies will allow safe testing of new drugs, and will also increase the chances of early diagnosis of dangerous diseases. The latest experiments will help to obtain more accurate test results without the use of experimental animals.
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