Science, in its quest for understanding the world around us, both within and without the human condition, has made great strides forward in developing techniques to better help us comprehend the complex structure and pathology of the human brain. One of these advancements are organoids.

Organoids are 3D cell cultures derived from pluripotent stem cells that mimic the structure, function, and cellular complexity of human organs. These in vitro, miniaturized versions of organs are especially well suited for studying complex multicellular organ structures, such as the brain, retina, kidney, and lungs, and are now widely used to study organ development and disease.

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Recently scientists have for the first time grown mini-brains from fetal brain tissue that are about the size of a grain of rice. Tiny brains were previously grown from fetal stem cells but now, for the first time, from actual fetal brain tissue, opening exciting possibilities for the future.

In a 1st, 'minibrains' grown from fetal brain tissue.

For the first time, scientists have grown cerebral organoids — three-dimensional, lab-grown "minibrains" — from human fetal brain tissue.

The new organoids grew to the size of a grain of rice and contained many types of cells that self-organized into complex 3D structures. The researchers also triggered the growth of brain tumors within the minibrains and tested the tumors' response to existing cancer drugs.

Minibrains mimic key aspects of the development and function of full-size human brains. They have previously been grown from human stem cells but never directly from already formed brain tissue, so the new organoids open up exciting possibilities, the authors of the new study, published Monday (Jan. 8) in the journal Cell, said in a statement.

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The minibrains could complement existing stem-cell-derived organoids and facilitate new, unique ways to study brain health and disease, the researchers said. While stem cells must be coaxed into resembling different parts of the brain, tissue plucked straight from the brain can precisely capture its tissues at specific developmental stages, the authors wrote in the report. And while stem cells must often be provided "scaffolding" to grow upon, brain tissues can make their own, they added.

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To make the new minibrains, the researchers took samples of brain tissue from deceased fetuses around the gestational age of 12 to 15 weeks old, which had been provided by anonymous donors. They separately grew small samples of each of the tissues on small plates using specific nutrients and growth factors. Each sample was continuously shaken as it grew, to ensure that all the cells within them were exposed to these chemicals, and they were not provided any physical scaffolding to grow upon.

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Minibrains grown from certain brain tissues, such as the forebrain, retained structural characteristics specific to that part of the organ, and they responded to specific signaling molecules that are involved in brain development.

In this initial experiment, the minibrains were grown for six months. Notably, the researchers were able to grow multiple minibrains from a single tissue sample. Organoids are emerging as a new way to test the safety and effectiveness of drugs, so this ability to produce many organoids from one sample could someday be useful for conducting repeat experiments of new therapies for disease.

Going forward, the authors want to create more complex versions of the minibrains and potentially develop them from fetal tissues at different stages of development, as well as diseased tissues that could capture brain defects associated with infant mortality.

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In concert with my oft stated proclamation: "Trust nothing, question everything", and upon further extensive research I have found many examples of real life mini-brain phenomena in the political world. Therefore leading me to the conclusion that this mini-brain breakthrough is actually much more advanced than science is currently admitting.