Scientists say they have found a way to coax brain cells taken from human cadavers back to life.
They hope this may one day provide an alternative to using embryos in stem cell research. In a feat worthy of Dr. Frankenstein, researchers say they have been able to coax human brain tissue back to life after death. Scientists say the cells grew after they extracted brain tissue from human cadavers and surgery biopsies and put it in petri dishes with chemical nourishment. Scientists say further research will show whether these recovered cells, like organs, could one day be taken from the dead and transplanted in the living. The study used brain tissue harvested from 23 individuals ranging in age from 11 weeks to 72 years old within 20 hours after death.