Functional sensory circuits built from neurons of two species. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38670072/)

These scientists wanted to see if they could make a part of a mouse's brain work using cells from a rat. They injected rat cells into mouse embryos and found that the rat cells were able to grow and work in the mouse's brain. The rat cells even helped the mouse to smell things better when the mouse's own cells were not working. This study showed that different species' cells can work together in the brain, and it helps us learn more about how brains develop and can be repaired.

Throesch BT., Bin Imtiaz MK., Munoz-Castaneda R., Sakurai M., Hartzell AL., James KN., Rodriguez AR., Martin G., Lippi G., Kupriyanov S., Wu Z., Osten P., Izpisua Belmonte JC., Wu J., Baldwin KK. Functional sensory circuits built from neurons of two species. Cell. 2024 Apr 25;187(9):2143-2157.e15. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.042.