Summary: Ethicists and biologists seek to head off challenges raised by tissue “organoids” as they become increasingly similar to human brains.

Cells in a cerebral organoid differentiate and form structures related to those seen in embryonic tissues, as seen in this micrograph. The green cells are the progenitors of neurons; the red cells are immature neurons migrating to form a cortical layer. As the similarities between organoids and brains increase, researchers need to pay close attention to the potential for ethical issues. Photograph: Alysson Muotri