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Over the past five years, scientists have worked to make these “mini-brains,” or cerebral organoids, more like the real thing.
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But most of the cultures studied to date mimic the brain only in its first trimester of development.
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In a study recently published in Neuron, however, Paşca and his team may have hurdled that obstacle by pushing mini-brains to unprecedented longevity. They have nurtured their cerebral organoids for nearly two years — making them some of the longest-lasting human cell cultures on record.
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Not only can these organoids serve as a model for learning more about how astrocytes mature, but they could also be a good system in which to study diseases that involve both neurons and astrocytes, according to Guo-li Ming, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine who was not involved in the study.
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