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The challenge of creating brains in a lab

3 1
31.10.2025
A screen showing human brain cells is photographed at the Swiss start-up FinalSpark in Vevey, on October 3, 2025. Inside a lab in the picturesque Swiss city of Vevey, a scientist feeds tiny clumps of human brain cells the nutrient-rich fluid they need to stay alive. This new field of research, called biocomputing or "wetware," aims to harness the evolutionarily honed — yet still mysterious — computing power of the human brain. | Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

They’re growing miniature 3D brains from stem cells. These aren’t your fictional mad scientists’ brains in a vat; they’re organoids, and they grow in petri dishes. They’re also incredibly cool.

We can, should, and will use cerebral organoids to discover new medical treatments, study brain development, reduce the demand for animal testing, and even power computers and more energy-efficient AI.

Lab-grown miniature brains may sound like sci-fi, but they’re totally real and happening right now. The Braingeneers team at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute recently received a $1.9 million grant to study organoid intelligence — aka their ability to learn, respond to stimuli, and complete tasks. The brain organoids interact with the outside world through electrical and chemical signaling.

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