The smart mouse with the half-human brain

[vellavu]

The smart mouse with the half-human brain

The altered mice still have mouse neurons – the “thinking” cells that make up around half of all their brain cells. But practically all the glial cells in their brains, the ones that support the neurons, are human.

“It’s still a mouse brain, not a human brain,” says Steve Goldman of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. “But all the non-neuronal cells are human.”

“This does not provide the animals with additional capabilities that could in any way be ascribed or perceived as specifically human,” he says. “Rather, the human cells are simply improving the efficiency of the mouse’s own neural networks. It’s still a mouse.”

However, the team decided not to try putting human cells into monkeys. “We briefly considered it but decided not to because of all the potential ethical issues,” Goldman says.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

WHOA... Mind blown. How freaky is that?? The whole time Pinky WAS The Brain.

 

[white avenger]

However, the team decided not to try putting human cells into monkeys. “We briefly considered it but decided not to because of all the potential ethical issues,” Goldman says.

Yeah, but now that the technology exists, someone is sure to try it. Looks like "Planet Of The Apes" could actually become a reality.

Thank god Charlton Heston never lived to see this!

 

[Blaze]

That's friggen cool!

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I gotta admit it that does sound good. As for monkeys, apes etc: with human brains brilliant idea. Question can they put a monkey brain in a human?

 

[white avenger]

Question can they put a monkey brain in a human?

Read "The Mastermind Of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He handles that possibility quite well. Of course, Barsoomian white apes are 10 feet tall and have 4 arms, so you can't QUITE call them monkeys...

 

[Fuffy Baith]

Mice with partly human brain? Is this how we get Splinter from the Ninja Turtles? I'm not sure what the point of this is. Does it benefit the mice more? Is it for cancer research? Idk. Idk why you do this.

However, the team decided not to try putting human cells into monkeys. “We briefly considered it but decided not to because of all the potential ethical issues,” Goldman says.

yea this sounds like Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I'm sure that all turns out well, right? Lol

 

[Blaze]

Mice with partly human brain? Is this how we get Splinter from the Ninja Turtles? I'm not sure what the point of this is. Does it benefit the mice more? Is it for cancer research? Idk. Idk why you do this.

Ya it's for research purposes. For example they could test drugs for things like Alzheimer and potentially get a more accurate portrayal of how those drugs would affect humans.

In a parallel experiment, Goldman injected immature human glial cells into mouse pups that were poor at making myelin, the protein that insulates nerves. Once inside the mouse brain, many of the human glial cells matured into oligodendrocytes, brain cells that specialise in making the insulating material, suggesting that the cells somehow detected and compensated for the defect.

This also has HUGE application for gene therapy in human. There's a potential there to find cures for neurodegenarative illnesses. Lots of those disease are caused by the myelin degenerating, and essentially short curcuiting the neurons. If they can find a way to use this technology in humans, it could be a game changer. I'm gonna have to read the real research though, cause sometimes what they report in those "online articles" isn't the most accurate compared to what is actually published in a scientific journal.

I'm completely baffled that this actually works. I'm even more baffled that it made the mice smarter, since were talking glial cells only. It's fascinating.