DW: This species is called "The American Politician."
Scientists at Stanford University have created mice whose brains contain large amounts of working human brain tissue, hoping the hybrid animals can help researchers study diseases that are difficult to recreate in normal laboratory mice. Researchers first genetically changed mice so they developed almost none of their own cerebral cortex, the brain area involved in memory, senses, and higher-level thinking. They then turned human skin cells into small pieces of brain-like tissue called organoids and implanted them into the mice.
Over several months, the human cells grew, connected with the mouse brain and spinal cord, and began working like cortex tissue. Researchers said the mice did not appear to think like humans or show major gains in intelligence. The work could help scientists study conditions including autism, epilepsy and cerebral palsy, although it also raises questions about animal welfare and how human brain tissue might affect an animal’s experience.
Source: BBC