Several miniature brain models, representing human neural organoids, often colloquially called minibrains, are laid out on a light blue surface. The pattern of these organoids seem arrow-like, indicating the future directions of the field that neuroscientists and ethicists envision.
| 4 min read
Legal and ethical guidelines have struggled to keep up with the pace of neural organoid research. Concerned neuroscientists and bioethicists are calling for changes.

bioethics

a section of a rat brain is imaged in dull green. a much brighter green human organoid takes up a large portion of the left side of the brain.

Researchers Transplant Human Neurons into Rat Brains

A black and white photo of a woman in a plumed hat in a laboratory classroom with several men

Birth of The Pill, 1956–1960

A postcard from the early 1900s depicting an Indigenous midden in Damariscotta, Maine.

Sticks and Bones, Circa 8000 BCE

Cover of When Animals Dream: A colourful illustration of an octopus.<br><br>

Book Excerpt from When Animals Dream

Cover of When Animals Dream: A colourful illustration of an octopus.<br><br>

Opinion: Animal Dreaming Should Give Us Ethical Pause

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Opinion: The Reproductive Technology Advances No One Asked For

Bock's pygmy octopus in a lab tank—researchers explore if invertebrates like octopuses and crabs can feel emotions.

Do Crabs Have Feelings? Exploring Emotions in Invertebrates

Zebrafish with fluorescent nervous system in green.

Oust the Mouse: A Plan to Reduce Mammal Use in Drug Development

A photo of a skeleton on a black background

Ancient DNA Boom Underlines a Need for Ethical Frameworks

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Photo of John Calhoun crouches within his rodent utopia-turned-dystopia

Universe 25 Experiment

A brown dog stares at a spoon of peanut butter in front of its face with wide eyes.

Why Do Dogs Love Peanut Butter?

A depiction of gut microbes in different colors inside the intestines.

Criticism of Autism-Gut Microbiome Research Sparks Pushback

A sequence map, rendered as different colored bars arranged in vertical columns.

Exploring the Vast Potential of Oxford Nanopore Sequencing for Clinical Research

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Multimedia

Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

Merck
Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

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December digest cover image of a wooden sculpture comprised of multiple wooden neurons that form a seahorse.
December 2025, Issue 1

Wooden Neurons: An Artistic Vision of the Brain

A neurobiologist, who loves the morphology of cells, turns these shapes into works of art made from wood.

View this Issue
Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

Merck
Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

MilliporeSigma purple logo
Abstract wireframe sphere with colorful dots and connecting lines representing the complex cellular and molecular interactions within the tumor microenvironment.

Exploring the Inflammatory Tumor Microenvironment 

Cellecta logo
An image of a DNA sequencing spectrum with a radial blur filter applied.

A Comprehensive Guide to Next-Generation Sequencing

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BRANDTECH® Scientific Announces Strategic Partnership with Copia Scientific to Strengthen Sales and Service of the BRAND® Liquid Handling Station (LHS) 

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Biotium Expands Tyramide Signal Amplification Portfolio with Brighter and More Stable Dyes for Enhanced Spatial Imaging

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LabVantage Solutions Awarded $22.3 Million U.S Customs and Border Protection Contract to Deliver Next-Generation Forensic LIMS