實驗室培育的迷你大腦正在挑戰(zhàn)道德底線

實驗室培育的迷你大腦正在挑戰(zhàn)道德底線

Scientists are fast approaching the point where they can grow a brain in a lab.

科學家們很快就能在實驗室里培育出大腦。

Some mini-brains are starting to act eerily like the full-sized model. (Photo: Sergey Nivens/Northeastern University)

No, we're not talking about artificial intelligence, but actual gray matter — stem cells taken from human skin or blood and reprogrammed to grow into neurons in the cortex, the brain's central processing unit.

不，我們說的不是人工智能，而是真正的灰質——從人類皮膚或血液中提取的干細胞，經過重新編程后生長為大腦皮層(大腦的中央處理單元)中的神經元。

So far, researchers have developed a stripped-down version, appropriately called a mini-brain or an organoid.

到目前為止，研究人員已經開發(fā)出一種簡化的版本，稱為迷你大腦或類器官。

And earlier this year, a University of California team announced they had grown a mini-brain with neural activity similar to that seen in a preterm infant. That lab-grown organ not only exhibited an eerie similarity to a human foetal brain at 12 to 13 weeks, but it also tried to connect itself with a nearby spinal cord and muscle tissue.

今年早些時候，加州大學的一個研究小組宣布，他們培育出了一個迷你大腦，其神經活動與早產兒類似。這個實驗室培養(yǎng)的器官不僅在12到13周時表現(xiàn)出與人類胎兒大腦驚人的相似，而且還試圖將自己與附近的脊髓和肌肉組織連接起來。

To be sure, these mini-brains have limited functionality ?— they help researchers recreate specific diseases and test therapies ?— leaving them a long way from what a full-sized model can do.

可以肯定的是，這些微型大腦的功能有限——它們幫助研究人員重現(xiàn)特定的疾病并測試治療方法——離全尺寸模型的功能還有很長的路要走。

But sentience, the ability to feel or experience the world around them, may be just around the corner — and all the ethical implications it brings.

但是感知能力，即感受或體驗周圍世界的能力，可能就在眼前——以及它所帶來的所有倫理影響。

When scientists from around the world gathered this week for the 49th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, a team led by San Diego's Green Neuroscience Laboratory issued a dire warning.

本周，當來自世界各地的科學家齊聚一堂，參加神經科學學會第49屆年會時，圣地亞哥綠色神經科學實驗室(Green Neuroscience Laboratory)領導的一個團隊發(fā)出了一個可怕的警告。

These lumps of brain may soon feel the world around them, as noted in the abstract to their presentation, there's an "urgent need" for scientists to wrap their heads around the ethical implications.

這些大腦塊可能很快就會感知周圍的世界，正如他們的報告摘要中所指出的那樣，科學家們“迫切需要”理解其中的倫理含義。

"If there's even a possibility of the organoid being sentient, we could be crossing that line," Elan Ohayon of the Green Neuroscience Laboratory tells The Guardian.

綠色神經科學實驗室的Elan Ohayon告訴《衛(wèi)報》:“如果有機生命體有感知能力的可能性，我們可能會越過那條線。”

"We don't want people doing research where there is potential for something to suffer."

“我們不希望人們在有可能遭受痛苦的地方進行研究。”

Indeed, imagine an existence of endless scientific torment that lasts indefinitely — without any hope of escape.

事實上，想象一下一種無窮無盡的科學折磨的存在，這種折磨無限期地持續(xù)下去，沒有任何逃脫的希望。

The scientists are calling for a set of criteria to be applied to organoids that would determine sentience and treat mini-brains within an ethical framework.

科學家們呼吁將一套標準應用于類器官，以確定感知能力，并在倫理框架內治療微型大腦。

Think of it as a mini-brain's charter of rights.

可以把它看作是一個迷你大腦的權利憲章。

Lab-grown mini-brains are essentially stripped down versions of their human equivalents grown from reprogrammed stem cells. (Photo: Meletios Verras/Shutterstock)

For science, the appeal of a "brain on a dish" may already outstrip the ethical implications. A mini-brain can give researchers invaluable insight into the complex workings of the mind, and, along the way, develop effective treatments for what may ail it. Organoids could also save countless animals from testing in labs.

對科學來說，“盤子上的大腦”的吸引力可能已經超過了它的倫理含義。迷你大腦可以讓研究人員深入了解大腦的復雜運作，并在此過程中開發(fā)出有效的治療方法。有機化合物還可以拯救無數動物，使它們免于在實驗室里接受測試。

But at what point do these new creations need protection?

但是在什么情況下這些新的創(chuàng)造需要保護呢?

"The field is developing quickly, and as we continue down this path, researchers need to contribute to the creation of ethical guidelines grounded in scientific principles that define how to approach their use before and after transplantation in animals," Isaac Chen, a neuroscientist who wasn't involved with the presentation tells Science Alert.

”領域正在迅速發(fā)展中,我們繼續(xù)沿著這條道路,研究者需要有助于建立道德準則基于科學原理,定義如何處理之前和之后使用移植動物,”艾薩克·陳,一位神經科學家并不參與演講告訴科學預警。

"While today's brain organoids and brain organoid hosts do not come close to reaching any level of self-awareness, there is wisdom in understanding the relevant ethical considerations in order to avoid potential pitfalls that may arise as this technology advances."

“雖然今天的大腦器官和大腦器官宿主沒有達到任何程度的自我意識，但為了避免隨著技術的進步可能出現(xiàn)的潛在陷阱，理解相關的倫理考慮是明智的。”

Indeed, if we're hurtling down this road, we may have to develop the one thing that can't be grown in a lab: a conscience.

的確，如果我們沿著這條路飛奔，我們可能不得不培養(yǎng)出一種無法在實驗室里培養(yǎng)的東西:一種良知。