NPR

Tiny Lab-Grown 'Brains' Raise Big Ethical Questions

Scientists are growing increasingly large and sophisticated clusters of human brain cells. Ethicists are now wondering what to do if these minibrains start thinking.
Scientists placed two clusters of cultured forebrain cells side by side (each cluster the size of a head of a pin) in the lab. Within days, the minibrains had fused and particular neurons (in green) migrated from the left side to the right side, as groups of cells do in a real brain.

Bits of human brain tissue no larger than a pea are forcing scientists to think about questions as large as the nature of consciousness.

These clusters of living brain cells are popularly known as minibrains, though scientists prefer to call them cerebral organoids. At the moment, they remain extremely rudimentary versions of an actual human brain and are used primarily to study brain development

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR5 min readIndustries
China Makes Cheap Electric Vehicles. Why Can't American Shoppers Buy Them?
American drivers want cheap EVs. Chinese automakers are building them. But you can't buy them in the U.S., thanks to tariffs in the name of U.S. jobs and national security. Two car shoppers weigh in.
NPR4 min readInternational Relations
Hamas Says Latest Cease-fire Talks Have Ended. Israel Vows A Military Operation Soon
The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended in Cairo. Meanwhile, Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza after Hamas attacked it.
NPR7 min read
How One Stretch Of Interstate 20 Through Alabama Tells The Story Of American Workers
Three high-profile labor disputes have unfolded in central Alabama over the past several years, with Amazon warehouse workers, coal miners and autoworkers all speaking out for change.

Related Books & Audiobooks