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Stanford study: human brain is two separate organs
The gist
Stanford-led research published Sept. 18 in Nature Neuroscience finds the front and back of the brain arise from different progenitor cells.
The finding could open lab-grown hindbrain neurons for studying ALS and SMA.
How it unfolded
- Sep 18, 2026Stanford Medicine-led study published in Nature Neuroscience (DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02433-7), titled 'Two parallel neural ectoderm progenitors contribute to the developing brain.'
- Sep 18, 2026Senior author Kyle Loh says the team showed for the first time that the front of the brain arises from a totally different progenitor cell than the back.
- Sep 18, 2026Co-first author Rayyan Jokhai says the ability to create large numbers of human hindbrain motor neurons in a petri dish offers a new way to model diseases, with the hope of one day providing regenerative therapies.