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With the era of pet rocks long gone, it's time for a new hobby. This
one's a corker: mini-brain gardening.
Cameron Scott of SingularityHUB
was kind enough to share some tips for beginners. First you take some "pluripotent human stem cells" (ones that can grow in a specialized fashion)
and plop them into the equivalent of a fancy petri dish. Then you
let them set a spell.
When proto-neural cells start to sprout, harvest them (carefully) onto a "scaffold." Grab your bioreactor and employ it "to improve cellular growing conditions." Pretty soon, voila!
You are now the proud new owner of "a brain-like organ" complete with "differentiated brain regions."
However, it's important not to get overly attached to the little critter. This is a kind way of saying that it might not last too long. Although this mini-brain can actually develop "a cerebral cortex, retina… meninges and
choroid plexus," that's about as far as it's gone to date. Two
months into the process, and the "mini-me" stops dead in its tracks.
Researchers from the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences attribute this fatal outcome to a lack of "adequate nutrients or oxygen to continue growing." This
is because there was no circulatory system present to nourish the mini-brain's core.
Now why all the fuss over growing your own brain? Why not
something simpler (and perhaps tastier) such as mung bean sprouts? The answer is profound (and ethically loaded): mini-brains
not only have the potential to help cure complicated diseases, but may also one day serve as brain transplants.
Resources
http://singularityhub.com/2013/08/30/scientists-grow-miniature-but-distinctly-human-brain-in-the-lab/
Copyright September 2, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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