Minibrains: What's in a Name?
By Melissa Lopes, Richie E Kohman, Jeantine E Lunshof, Bruna Paulsen, Martina Pigoni, Alexandra White, John Aach, Insoo Hyun
The reality of organoids
This Article From Issue
July-August 2021
Volume 109, Number 4
Page 208
Brain organoids have emerged in recent years as a powerful new tool for neuroscience research. Unfortunately, the promise of this tool has been muddied by misplaced fear and hype, born of uncertainty about what brain organoids are and what they can do. Brain organoids have been described as minibrains and brains in a vat. Such terms conjure up horror-movie visions of self-actualized, independent entities that could run amok in the lab and beyond. A greater understanding of organoids reveals that these popular names are ambiguous at best and deceptive at worst, obscuring the true promise and limitations of the new research.
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