(CNN) A Harvard medical pioneer calls it "astounding" --- an "incredible achievement" and a "quantum leap forward" in the battle against cancer, autism, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
What's going on? Scientists at Ohio State University say they've figured out a way to grow the genetic equivalent of a nearly complete embryonic human brain.
Technically, they're not quite "brains." They're called brain organoids --- pieces of human tissue grown in petri dishes from skin cells.
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These little blobs of tissue, 2-3 millimeters long, could help researchers test drugs and other treatments that may help prevent, fight and maybe even cure some of the most devastating disorders and diseases of our time.
