'Minibrains' may be answer to Zika and Alzheimer's

"Minibrains" are highly organized structures that actually start out as human skin cell. They are then coaxed in the lab to become neural stem cells, then to differentiate into some of the different types of cells found in real brain.

The "minibrains" rudimentary networks of cells enough to fit on the head of a pin, are already providing researchers with insights into everything from early brain development to down syndrome, Alzheimer's and Zika.

They replicate part of the cell diversity and connectivity of the human brain. Said Thomas Hartung researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

Hartung said these cells are communicating, are talking to each other.

The "minibrain" grows much the way a real brain does during early pregnancy. It has helped researchers solve a medical mystery involving the Zika virus.

"Minibrains greatest potential though, may be for testing new drugs for brain disorders. Drug testing with animals has often proved misleading because animal brains just aren't like human brain". Said Hartung