Tiny Little Brains... Something to think about...

Image Source

I just came across what I consider to be one of the weirdest, and coolest, advances in medical science I have seen in quite a long time. The last time I was this amazed about a new medical discovery was when the CRISPR-CAS9 gene modification technique nearly blew my mind - or in the current context - melted my brain.

Researchers have recently discovered a method for growing tiny, semi-functional little human brains in a laboratory. The little brains are literally grown in something called a “bioreactor”, and as the cells begin to grow they assemble themselves in very much the same way cells do in the human brain during the initial development stage of a fetus.

The miniature brains are about the size of a pin head, and contain roughly two hundred thousand cells, making them considerably smaller than a human brain, which contains orders of magnitude more, at just under a hundred billion cells. These tiny little brains take shape by forming into round clusters of cells, and as they grow they begin to acquire almost identical structures as found in the human brain.

Scientists don’t yet have the ability to create all of the different regions and complexities of a human brain, making the tiny, lab-created brains not act exactly like a fully functioning human brain in every respect – but the science is advancing at an unbelievable pace.

Image Source

Scientists are doing some pretty amazing things with these tiny little brains, which before now where almost impossible to accomplish. One of the primary uses for this new technology is to give scientists the ability to study how the human brain forms, and because there is no way to actually go inside the womb to see how the human brain actually develops, they can now study how these little clusters of brain cells act and react to different stimuli. It turns out that these cells grow and behave much in the same way as cells do in early human brain development, giving researchers a powerful new tool for diagnosing and preventing brain diseases in children.

Another key advantage of this technology is that scientists are now able to directly test new experimental drugs being developed specifically for brain diseases. Previous research using rats and mice was only able to scratch the surface of what is now possible due to the fact that the mouse and rat brains are so very different from human brains. There is now the very real possibility that many different diseases that affect the brain can be more adequately diagnosed, treated, and potentially even cured.

Being able to perform tests using human cells has been extremely valuable, and drug development directly related to brain diseases like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and Encephalitis have already benefited from significant advancements. By infecting some of these little mini brains with the Zika virus, researchers were able to figure out how the Zika virus affects, and is altering the development of the early human brain, thus leading to an immediate advancement in our understanding of the virus, its effects, and treatment options for the horrible affliction it causes – microcephaly.

Scientists are now able to grow any number of different body parts in a laboratory, essentially in high-tech test tubes. I guess it was just a matter of time before they got to the brain. In the not-too-distant future it will be commonplace for hearts, kidneys, livers, bladders, lungs - and pretty much every organ, tissue, or cell in the body - to be grown in a lab and used to prevent, treat, and possibly cure just about everything imaginable.

Image Source 1- 2- 3- 4

I do however think that there will be a much larger question asked when the technology sufficiently advances and people begin to ponder the implications, and what it all means. What if scientists are eventually able to grow a fully functional human brain in a laboratory? Just the thought of it makes me wonder about consciousness and the possibility of something man-made becoming self-aware. In spite of how cool that would be, and all the potential benefits it could bring to humanity, I think we have a lot of time before being forced to consider the moral, ethical, spiritual - and in certain respects - the religious questions that will inevitably arise from having a living brain in a jar.

Image Source: The Man With Two Brains - 1983

Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on your perspective - the technology is not yet anywhere near being able to grow all of the key structures that make up a human brain. So, in the short-term at least, I don’t think we have anything to worry about. More importantly the human brain doesn’t become what it is just by growing more cells, the human brain is much more than that. It is the product of input from our eyes, ears, nose, and every other sensory organ. Interactions with other people, and thought processes that we are only just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding, are inevitably more important when considering what makes a human brain - well, human. I don’t think there is any question that we are more than just the sum of our parts.

There are so many interesting things coming down the medical technology pipeline that it’s hard to keep up with them all - needless to say I’m excited about every one of them.

…who knows what the future holds.

Proofread/Edited By @transcript-junky

@transcript-junky is offering professional editing for a limited time, CLICK HERE to submit your post for review... As you can see he does great work...