Are Human Neurons in Rats a Threat to Humanity?

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There is no legislation around brain organoids that limits their development. There isn't any legislation that considers the organoid as a potentially conscious entity. We are in kind of uncharted territory and I think central to that uncharted territory is the moral status of the beings we're creating. The problem with legislation is it's formed at one point in time and then science evolves very quickly and then the legislation loses its grip.

Researchers have successfully transplanted human neurons into the brains of rats. The recent, groundbreaking study described how the human cells took root inside the rat brains, hooked up to their blood supplies and tapped into neural circuitry. Rather than create a kind of super-rat, the ultimate aim is to better understand neuropsychiatric disorders such as epilepsy and schizophrenia, and examine the effects of drugs in real time. But do the potential benefits outweigh the ethical questions that come with combining human cells with other animals? Ian Sample speaks to Prof Julian Savulescu about how the scientists managed to transplant the neurons, what this means, and how we decide where to draw the line in such an ethically complex field of research. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod