The American scientists raised 'mini brains' to live up to 9 months in vitro

You do not need to worry, because they have never been conscious.

A group of people from Tufts University in the United States said they could create mini brains that lived up to nine months in vitro , just from silk, a mixture of proteins and stem cells.

For the clearest and most honest look, these brains are just blocks of nerve cells that are connected to each other. They can be spontaneous, but not fully conscious.

At this time, artificial brains were created not to replace real human brains, but to do research models for scientists. These growing brains in this test tube will reveal many things related to, and the.

At this point, the brain is created for scientific research purposes.(Illustration).

The study was published in the Journal of Biological Sciences and Materials of the American Chemical Society, in which scientists presented a method to extend the lifespan of artificial brains by up to 9 months.

Techniques to use protein, silk and stem cell mixtures of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients. Previously, artificial brains in vitro often had short lifespans, not enough to observe the progression of neurological diseases over time.

So, David L. Kaplan, a biomedical engineering professor at Tufts University, and his research team sought to refine the test environment, helping the brains live longer and develop more types of health. neurons are diverse.

He created scaffolds made of materials that combine silk and collagen. This material improves the in vitro environment for stem cells to grow most naturally, with genetic markers and electrical signals like real brain cells in the human body.

In fact, Tufts University has spent more than 5 years developing artificial brain projects. The mini brains they created are all aimed at neuroscience.

In 2013, the team at Tuffs University published a breakthrough study, turning human skin stem cells into a mini brain similar to the brain of a 9-week-old fetus.

Photo taken inside the mini brain of Tufts University scientists.

It can be seen that stem cell technology has been opened up for many scientists. From a few stem cells, scientists around the world have successfully developed many parts of the human body, such as the skin, retina, blood vessels, testicles and even vaginal in vitro. .

The purpose of these artificial parts is to transplant patients, treat or repair their injuries. For example, a man who lost both testicles in a car accident could get a new testicular transplant from his own stem cells, allowing him to regain fertility.

But when it comes to artificial brains, scientists are often very cautious. The question is whether they develop consciousness or not? If a brain is made in a test tube sufficiently complete, with perfect cells and functions, it can think, can form memories even though it is not connected to the senses.

At that time, doing scientific tests on artificial brains could be considered immoral, because they are also something living.