• Question: Do you think we will ever be able to grow a replacement brain,so that we can make people more clever?

    Asked by stevebbbb to Jen, Jill, Mel, Phil, Stef on 14 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Phil Rice

      Phil Rice answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      I normally never say never, but in this instance – NO way. Think how complicated the brain is. 100,000,000,000 nerve cells each with about 10,000 connections to other nerve cells and loads of different chemical neurotransmitters. It is beyond doubt the single most complicated thing in the Universe (which we know of). I don’t know when we will understand its workings, but I would love to have a go (I did a neuroscience degree at Med School).

    • Photo: Jennifer Paxton

      Jennifer Paxton answered on 15 Mar 2013:

      I think of all the organs in the body the brain would definitely be the most difficult to grow. Until we understand how it really truly works, I doubt we’d be able to grow a new one! People are trying to investigate how to grow single nerves – and that is proving hard enough! You never know though….there are many things done today that I bet people 100 years ago would never have thought possible, so maybe one day….

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