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Unprecedented: Scientists Have Built Miniature Brains That Experience The Passage Of Time
Yahoo • • health
Key Points:
- Researchers have developed miniature brain organoids that can sense the passage of time and retain a cellular memory of their developmental age, marking the longest-lived brain organoids observed, with a lifespan of nearly six years.
- These organoids mature similarly to real human brains, as demonstrated by DNA "epigenetic clocks," and exhibit continued molecular maturation in various cell types, including astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
- The study revealed that neurons can be preserved longer by keeping them spontaneously active in a specialized culture medium mimicking the central nervous system's environment.
- Scientists created "chimeroids" by reassembling cells of different ages, showing that brain cells retain a memory of their developmental history and adjust their maturation pace accordingly.
- This breakthrough offers a powerful experimental system to model postnatal human brain maturation and explore mechanisms of brain development, neoteny, and evolution.
