Biggest science news of 2021: Brain blob in a dish grows a pair of ‘eyes’

Incredible advances in growing living tissue in the lab took another amazing turn in August when a blob of brain cells grew eye-like structures Technology 15 December 2021 By Clare Wilson Elke Gabriel There was a leap forward in understanding brain development in August, when lumps of neural tissue in a dish were coaxed into … Read more

Mini-brains: Clumps of human brain cells in a dish can learn to play Pong faster than an AI

Hundreds of thousands of brain cells in a dish are being taught to play Pong by responding to pulses of electricity – and can improve their performance more quickly than an AI can Mind 17 December 2021 By Michael Le Page Living brain cells in a dish can learn to play Pong when they are … Read more

Living robots: Xenobots made from frog cells can self-replicate in a dish by pulling cells into clumps

Swarms of tiny “xenobots” can self-replicate in the lab by pushing loose cells together – the first time this form of reproduction has been seen in multicellular organisms Life 29 November 2021 By Carissa Wong Swarms of tiny living robots can self-replicate in a dish by pushing loose cells together. The xenobots – made from … Read more