{"id":7369,"date":"2026-08-25T09:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T09:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7369"},"modified":"2026-08-25T09:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T09:07:07","slug":"worlds-oldest-lab-grown-human-brains-grow-for-seven-years-recording-passage-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7369","title":{"rendered":"World’s oldest lab-grown human brains grow for seven years recording ‘passage of time’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A team of scientists have produced organoids that have become the world\u2019s oldest lab-grown human brains \u2014 with some cells growing for around seven years.<\/p>\n

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Harvard scientists developed the peppercorn-sized cell clusters for more than five years \u2013 shattering the previous record of 694 days, according to an article published in Nature last Wednesday.<\/p>\n

But the paper\u2019s leading author, Paola Arlotta, has since revealed some of the cells grew for around seven years, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe data indicate [s] that human brain organoids record the passage of time following endogenous milestones and using similar epigenetic mechanisms,\u201d the study claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work demonstrates that a diversity of cells in organoids can develop over considerable time periods and are capable of both recording and recalling their developmental age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organoids are 3D clusters of cells that mimic the structure and function of human organs \u2013 and they are used by scientists to test new drugs, model diseases and study human development.<\/p>\n

But the cell clusters usually die within two years because they are starved of oxygen and there is no blood vessel system as they are grown outside a human body. Meanwhile, it takes almost 20 years for the human brain to fully develop.<\/p>\n

Harvard researchers monitored the behavior of 34 organoids at different time points \u2014 between six months and five years, and noted how there was a striking similarity between human brain cells and the artificial cells in terms of their development.<\/p>\n

The scientists used DNA methylation profiling, a chemical process which happens during development. It is where tags are added to DNA molecules and researchers consider it to be a useful tool when it comes to predicting the age of cells. <\/p>\n

This proved to be a reliable \u201cage clock,\u201d Arlotta, a principal faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe methylation clock told us that these organoids were basically doing things that the endogenous brain would do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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The scientists also combined cells from an artificial brain, which was one year old, and mixed them with others just two weeks old.<\/p>\n

Arlotta said the younger cells behaved as normal while the older cells \u201cjumped ahead a whole chunk of development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scientist noted that the cells produced neurons, which normally take around four months.<\/p>\n

It effectively \u201cwarped time\u201d for brain development \u2013 which the scientist described as a \u201csuper cool\u201d process.<\/p>\n

The brain organoids have since been destroyed, but Arlotta suggests the cells could last longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody really knows,\u201d she said, regarding a potential lifespan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Neuroscientist Guo-li Ming described the feat as a \u201ctechnology breakthrough,\u201d according to NPR.<\/p>\n

Scientists across the US have used organoids when it comes to studying Alzheimer\u2019s disease \u2013 the sixth-leading cause of death in the US.<\/p>\n

Cells are used to model how the disease can advance \u2013 monitoring characteristics such as amyloid-beta and tau plaque formation, the protein which ultimately kills brain cells.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arlotta hopes the recent experiment will also provide insight into how diseases like schizophrenia advance.<\/p>\n

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