--- title: "Lab-Grown Brain Uses “Tendrils” to Grab, Control Spinal Cords" description: "Scientists at Cambridge University say they've grown a miniature brain in a petri dish that seizes control of nearby spinal cords around it." date: "2019-03-19" modified: "2019-03-19" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/lab-grown-brain-tendrils-spinal-cords" categories: - "Brain" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "lab-grown brain" - "spinal cord" - "tendrils" - "the digest" --- # Lab-Grown Brain Uses “Tendrils” to Grab, Control Spinal Cords ![Scientists at Cambridge University say they've grown a miniature brain in a petri dish that seizes control of nearby spinal cords around it.]() *\Image: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology\* ## Mini-Brain Cambridge scientists say they've grown a miniature brain in a petri dish that seizes control of biological material around it. Unlike [previous lab-grown brains](), this one actively will send out "tendrils" to connect to a spinal cord removed from a mouse, [according to *The Guardian*]() — and can then use its new spine to control a mouse muscle attached to it. ## It's...Alive? The brain, which *The Guardian* described as a "lentil-sized grey blob of human brain cells," represents a significant step forward because of its eerie ability to connect to a rudimentary nervous system. Its creators are hoping they'll be able to use it — and other organoids like it — to study brain and nerve diseases on a small, controlled scale. "Obviously we’re not just trying to create something for the fun of it," said study leader Madeline Lancaster in an interview with *The Guardian*. "We want to use this to model diseases and to understand how these networks are set up in the first place." ## Can It Suffer? The researchers estimate that the new lab-grown brain has the approximate sophistication of a human fetus that's developed for between 12 and 16 weeks — but they don't think there's cause for ethical concern yet, according to *The Guardian*. “It’s still a good idea to have that discussion every time we take it a step further,” Lancaster told the newspaper. “But we agree generally that we’re still very far away from that.” **READ MORE:** [Scientists grow 'mini-brain on the move' that can contract muscle]() \[*The Guardian*\] **More on lab-grown brains:** [Lab-Grown Mini Kidneys Keep Spawning Rogue Brain Cells]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()