Researchers in Vienna, Austria are growing cerebral organoids, a form of human tissue that resembles a developing brain, in hopes of deciphering the mysteries of many neurological disorders. These brain organoids begin life as a single skin cell taken from an adult. Biochemists manipulate these skin cells to convert them into pluripotent stem cells, which can then be coaxed into becoming a neuron.

Jürgen Knoblich, senior scientist & deputy scientific director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna, believes this research will help scientists better understand what causes diseases like autism and schizophrenia, while at the same time helping them figure out how to better combat these conditions.

Click here to read an article about this research in Technology Review.