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Scientists Can Now Grow Brain Cells In The Lab

Posted by timothy on from the too-bad-tim-has-no-mature-brain-cells dept.

H_Fisher writes "Scientists in Florida have grown mature brain cells in the laboratory, a scientific first. The Independent reports that "[...]they were able to produce virtually unlimited quantities of brain cells, which could revolutionise transplant medicine as well as leading to new drugs to stimulate the regrowth of damaged nerves." This could be a milestone in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's, and many other illnesses and injuries."

5 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Mine will be happy by qurk · · Score: 4, Funny

    Friends! They have been getting pretty lonely.

  2. How can this be used? by jrivar59 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The first application that leaps to mind is that regenerated cells could be used to replace damanged or aged cells somehow, but is that really possible?

    Other types of tissue have been reproduced before, but I've never heard of it being applied such a way. For instance, if you suffer liver failure, your still dependent on an organ doner..

    Or are are there already some types of organ regeneration procedures already in practice? I would guess that the brain would be one of the most difficut types of tissue to do things like this.

  3. what sort of I/O would it be using? by St.+Arbirix · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Seriously, if they're making "virtually unlimited quantities" they should at least shove a bunch together and wire up some sort of interface. It'd be interesting to see if it'll learn how to interact with whatever inputs it's given and maybe learn to respond.

    We could then start teaching it stuff. Much fun.

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    Direct away from face when opening.
  4. At last! by Bodhidharma · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally, the end of the Republican party is in sight.

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    A dyslexic man walks into a bra.
  5. Just think of the experiments by Frumious+Wombat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Within the limitation that some mechanism for simulating the blood/brain barrier will have to be devised, this should lead to a new generation of drug screens. Now you can test the effect of new drugs at physiological concentrations on real brain cells. This potentially means no more guess-work based on rat models, and less endangering of real patients during the phase three trials.

    Of course, people with more vision than I have will undoubtedly be using this as a way of testing their Borg prototypes, but that's progress of a sort as well. Seriously enough, this will allow you to do the necessary tests to make sure that human cells interface correctly with cybernetic implants, thereby speeding development of bionic eyes, neuro-muscular interfaces, etc.

    So, how long until, "we can remember it for you wholesale", or "johnny mnemonic"?

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    the more accurate the calculations became, the more the concepts tended to vanish into thin air. R. S. Mulliken