Scientists have built artificial neurons that fully mimic human brain cells

They could supplement our brain function.

Researchers have built the world’s first artificial neuron that’s capable of mimicking the function of an organic brain cell - including the ability to translate chemical signals into electrical impulses, and communicate with other human cells.

These artificial neurons are the size of a fingertip and contain no ‘living’ parts, but the team is working on shrinking them down so they can be implanted into humans. This could allow us to effectively replace damaged nerve cells and develop new treatments for neurological disorders, such as spinal cord injuries and Parkinson’s disease.

Professor Agneta Richter Dahlfors. 

Foto: Stefan Zimmerman

"Our artificial neuron is made of conductive polymers and it functions like a human neuron," lead researcher Agneta Richter-Dahlfors from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden said in a press release.

Until now, scientists have only been able to stimulate brain cells using electrical impulses, which is how they transmit information within the cells. But in our bodies they're stimulated by chemical signals, and this is how they communicate with other neurons.

By connecting enzyme-based biosensors to organic electronic ion pumps, Richter-Dahlfors and her team have now managed to create an artificial neuron that can mimic this function, and they've shown that it can communicate chemically with organic brain cells even over large distances.

"The sensing component of the artificial neuron senses a change in chemical signals in one dish, and translates this into an electrical signal," said Richter-Dahlfors. "This electrical signal is next translated into the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in a second dish, whose effect on living human cells can be monitored."

This means that artificial neurons could theoretically be integrated into complex biological systems, such as our bodies, and could allow scientists to replace or bypass damaged nerve cells. So imagine being able to use the device to restore function to paralysed patients, or heal brain damage.

"Next, we would like to miniaturise this device to enable implantation into the human body," said Richer-Dahlfors.“We foresee that in the future, by adding the concept of wireless communication, the biosensor could be placed in one part of the body, and trigger release of neurotransmitters at distant locations."

"Using such auto-regulated sensing and delivery, or possibly a remote control, new and exciting opportunities for future research and treatment of neurological disorders can be envisaged," she added.

The results of lab trials have been published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

We're really looking forward to seeing where this research goes. While the potential for treating neurological disorders are incredibly exciting, the artificial neurons could one day also help us to supplement our mental abilities and add extra memory storage or offer faster processing, and that opens up some pretty awesome possibilities.

ORIGINAL: Science Alert

By FIONA MACDONALD

29 JUN 2015

Scientists coax stem cells to form 3-D mini lungs

University of Michigan Health System

Scientists have coaxed stem cells to grow the first three-dimensional mini lungs. Previous research has focused on deriving lung tissue from flat cell systems or growing cells onto scaffolds made from donated organs.

In a study published in the online journal eLife the multi-institution team defined the system for generating the self-organizing human lung organoids, 3D structures that mimic the structure and complexity of human lungs.

Figure 1. Generation of three-dimensional ventral anterior foregut spheroids from endoderm monolayers.

(A) hESCs were differentiated into foregut endoderm by treating cells with 4 days of Activin A (ACTA) followed by 4 days of NOG+SB. (B) Foregut endoderm (NOG+SB) had high expression of the foregut marker SOX2 while the hindgut marker CDX2 was significantly reduced compared to untreated endoderm controls (End). NOG+SB monolayers had high expression of ventral anterior foregut genes NKX2.1 and PAX8 while the posterior foregut marker PDX1 was reduced. The foregut marker HHEX is expressed in the developing liver, biliary system, and thyroid and remained unchanged. (C) The majority of cells in NOG+SB treated cultures were SOX2 positive (green) compared to the control, in which only scattered clusters of cells were SOX2 positive. The scale bar represents 200 µm. (D) hESCs were differentiated into foregut spheroids by treating cells with 4 days of ACTA and then additional 4–6 days of NOG+SB+FGF4+Ch. Representative images of a spheroid in a matrigel droplet are shown as a whole mount image. Scale bar represents 100 µm. (E) Foregut spheroids (NOG+SB+FGF4+Ch) had high expression of the foregut marker SOX2 while the hindgut marker CDX2 was significantly reduced compared to untreated endoderm control (End) (top panel). Spheroids had high expression of anterior foregut genes NKX2.1 and PAX8 while the posterior foregut marker PDX1 was reduced and HHEX was unchanged (bottom panel). *p < 0.05, error bars represent SEM. (F) The majority of cells in foregut spheroids are FOXA2+ (green, left panel) and SOX2+ (white, right panel) and ECAD+ (red, right panel). Scale bar represent 50 µm.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05098.003