USING a weak laser beam to guide nerve cells could help build artificial neural networks. These could be used for testing drugs to combat brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
The technique also brings the prospect of regrowing damaged nerves a step closer. It could allow surgeons to reconnect nerve fibres damaged in an accident or even to reconstruct whole networks.
Regenerating nerves in patients with a severed spinal cord, for example, is fraught with difficulties. Researchers have had some success using tubular scaffolds to guide nerve growth, but no one has restored movement in paralysed patients.
Creating artificial nerve networks on chips also means guiding nerve growth. These "brains-on-a-chip" are useful for testing drugs (
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