Can lab-grown brains become conscious?
A handful of experiments are raising questions about whether clumps of cells and disembodied brains could be sentient, and how scientists would know if they were.
Email Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Whatsapp X Illustration by Fabio Buonocore Access through your institution Buy or subscribe In Alysson Muotri’s laboratory, hundreds of miniature human brains, the size of sesame seeds, float in Petri dishes, sparking with electrical activity. Access options Access through your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 52 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.83 per issue Learn more R
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