Today’s Solutions: July 12, 2025

When new drugs need to be tested, the subject of those tests are usually mice. And often successful tests on mice don’t translate to success for humans simply because we aren’t mice. That’s why scientists at Johns Hopkins University have designed and grown something that could be much better test subjects for drug development: “Mini-brains”. What the scientists have done is reprogrammed adult skin cells into embryonic stem cells which are grown in petri dishes over a couple months. The scientists can then test those cells by placing them on electrode array and listening to the neurons’ electrical communication as the drugs are added. These tiny brains are about the size of houseflies so researchers can grow a hundred of them in a single petri dish. So far the experiment with mini-brains has been successful, and could potentially replace animal testing on a large scale and make for more accurate brain-related research.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

4 simple ways to feel at your absolute best this summer

The sunshine of summer is enough to make you feel better than you usually do throughout the year. But with a few changes to ...

Read More

New electrolyzer improves green hydrogen production

Green hydrogen continues to gain momentum in funding and research. The hydrogen market is projected to grow to $2.5 trillion by 2050. "Green" hydrogen ...

Read More

Young driver fatality rates in the US are falling, thanks to education and te...

The newest Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) report contains excellent news for young drivers in the United States. There has been a dramatic decline ...

Read More

France will test a nationwide mobile phone ban for students under the age of 15

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In an ambitious bid to reduce excessive screen time among young children, France plans to trial a mobile ...

Read More