Inserting human neurons into the brains of ra...

Roald Dahl Day is celebrated each year on 13 September. Dahl gave us much-loved children’s books like Matilda, The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which have captivated kids for generations.Dahl is also a controversial figure, and made anti-semitic remarks that his fam ...  Show more

The 80th birthday celebrations of the late, great Queen frontman Freddie Mercury have us marvelling at mercury at an elemental level: as a killer, a cure and more.First, we hear about how to make a telescope mirror out of a spinning bowl of liquid mercury. Then we hear about kill ...  Show more

Sergiu Pasca, Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University has left the petri dish in the drawer and grown human neurons inside the brains of juvenile rats. Successful connectivity and brain function may allow for more rigorous testing and understanding of neurological conditio ...  Show more

Philosophers have long pondered the concept of a brain in a jar, hooked up to a simulated world. Though this has largely remained a thought experiment, CrowdScience listener JP wants to know if it might become reality in the not-too-distant future, with advances in stem cell r ...

Scientists Are Trying To Study Human Neurons… In Rat Brains?

Scientists have a tricky time studying neurons, partially because they are remarkably difficult to grow in a lab. They need other cells around them, and they don’t replicate or reproduce like other cells do. I ...

Neuroscientist Sergiu P. Pasca has made it his life's work to understand how the human brain builds itself -- and what makes it susceptible to disease. In a mind-blowing talk laden with breakthrough science, he shows how his team figured out how to grow what they call brain "asse ...  Show more