Scientists Unleash Franken-Mice With Brains That Are Nearly Half Human
"It's going to provide us access to other aspects of human brain function that would be very difficult to study." The post Scientists Unleash Franken-Mice With Brains That Are Nearly Half Human appeared first on Futurism .
Scientists have engineered mice with brains containing millions of human neurons, as reported in a study published in Nature. The Stanford University researchers employed genetic engineering to create mice with missing brain regions, specifically the cortex. By removing the mice's ability to replenish cortex neurons, they implanted human brain cells into the mice, resulting in the human neurons multiplying and connecting with the mouse brain.
Despite the mice having nearly half their brains composed of human neurons, they still behaved normally. This breakthrough could provide new insights into neurocognitive disorders, as the human neurons in the mice resembled those found in a third trimester human fetus. The study also revealed the presence of von Economo neurons, which are unique to highly social animals and are often affected in frontotemporal dementia.
However, the research raises ethical concerns due to the premature termination of the experiment before the mice could potentially develop consciousness.
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