AMERICANALMANAC (Lynn Jenkins) - Researchers put human neurons into mice, raising new ethical questions
Stanford researchers placed millions of lab-grown human neurons into mice, creating a disease model that also raises hard questions about consciousness and animal rights. NPR reported that the team used mice missing most of their cerebral cortexes, then filled much of that space with human cortical neurons grown in a laboratory. The goal was to […] The post Researchers put human neurons into mice, raising new ethical questions appeared first on American Almanac .
Stanford researchers placed millions of lab-grown human neurons into mice, creating a disease model that also raises hard questions about consciousness and animal rights. NPR reported that the team used mice missing most of their cerebral cortexes, then filled much of that space with human cortical neurons grown in a laboratory. The goal was to study neurodegenerative disease and other brain conditions. But the researchers stopped when the human cells reached roughly six months of development, before possible signs of consciousness might emerge. Sergiu Pașca, a Stanford professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, served as the senior author. The team published its findings in the journal Nature. Pașca said scientists have spent…Open