Studying Autism with BRAINS Grown In Space | Alysson Moutri on The INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE Podcast (#304)

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https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/intotheimpossible Be sure to watch
the video of this episode on YouTube here:
https://youtu.be/hDKGF5W4Qis?sub_confirmation=1 Where does
consciousness come from? Can we cure autism? Can we grow a human
BRAIN in Space? Dr. Alysson Muotri joins me to discuss all these
fascinating questions and more. Brain organoids are lab-grown
minibrains that mimic structural and functional features of
full-size brains. They are created by culturing pluripotent stem
cells in a three-dimensional rotational bioreactor, and they
develop over a course of months. Brain organoids have emerged as
novel model systems that can be used to investigate human brain
development and disorders34, as well as evolutionary studies and
neural network research Muotri is a Professor at the Departments of
Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego,
an Associate Director of CARTA, The Center for Research and
Training in Anthropology, and Director of the Stem Cell Program,
and of the Archealization Center (ArchC) at UC San Diego. He moved
to the Salk Institute as Pew Latin America Fellow in 2002 for
postdoctoral training in the fields of neuroscience and stem cell
biology. His research focuses on brain evolution and modeling
neurological diseases using human-induced pluripotent stem cells
and brain organoids. He has an additional focus on solving one of
life's greatest mysteries: What is it that makes us uniquely human?
Our unique social brains are one of the key distinguishing factors
between humans and other primates. We are even very different from
our closest relatives, the Neanderthals. His work has implications
for the generation of human disease models by determining the
molecular and cellular mechanisms driving neurological complex
disorders, such as autism. It is also creating opportunities for
identifying and testing novel therapeutic approaches. Understanding
the evolutionary path and the tradeoffs of the modern human brain
will likely illuminate the origins of human disease. Dr. Moutri has
received several awards, including the prestigious NIH Director’s
New Innovator Award, NARSAD, Emerald Foundation Young Investigator
Award, Surugadai Award, Rock Star of Innovation, NIH EUREKA Award,
and two Telly Awards for Excellence in Science Communication.
Links: Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine: cmm.ucsd.edu
Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny:
carta.anthropogeny.org/users/alysson-muotri the Archealization
Center: Archc.ucsd.edu Subscribe to the Jordan Harbinger Show for
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