Scientists Grew a Brain in a Lab and Now They're Asking If It Can Feel Pain

Summary: Scientists are growing tiny clumps of human brain cells in labs called "organoids." They started doing this in 2013 to study tough brain diseases like autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's that are otherwise impossible to observe directly.

Even though people like to call them "mini-brains," scientists say that nickname is completely wrong. These structures are very simple, have no blood vessels, and only contain about 0.002 percent of the neurons a real human brain has. Right now, experts agree these tiny cell clumps cannot think, are not conscious, and cannot feel pain.

The bigger ethical debate right now isn't about thinking lab brains, but what happens when scientists put these human cells into baby rats to study them. This creates a mix called a chimera. While this sounds a bit like science fiction and makes the public nervous, scientists say this research is absolutely necessary to help cure terrible human diseases and alleviate suffering.

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