• Nerve cells can be grown from stem cells in Petri dishes, enabling scientists to research diseases. Previously, it was only possible to create a few dozen different types of nerve cell.
• Using a new method, researchers have now managed to produce over 400 different types of nerve cell.
• Cell culture models with cells of this kind are of interest for research into diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as for testing new drugs in pharmaceutical research.

Over 400 different types of nerve cell have been grown – far more than ever before

For the first time, researchers at ETH Zurich have successfully produced hundreds of different types of nerve cell from human stem cells in Petri dishes. In the future, it will thus be possible to investigate neurological disorders using cell cultures instead of animal testing.

ETH Zurich (ethz.ch)