Brain grown in laboratory dish will help Alzheimer’s research

A near-complete human brain comparable with that of a five-week-old foetus has been grown in a laboratory dish.

The brain “organoid” was created from reprogrammed skin cells and is about the size of a pencil eraser.

Scientists hope the lumpy mass of functioning nerve cells and fibres will prove to be a valuable research tool for non-animal testing of drugs and investigating brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s.