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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Scientists Just Listened to 91% of a Mini Human Brain For the First Time Ever

Scientists have taken a major step toward understanding how the human brain works—without ever opening a human skull. A new shape-conforming 3D bioelectronic mesh can now wrap around lab-grown mini brains and record 91% of their electrical activity, something that was impossible until now.

This breakthrough solves one of the biggest problems in brain organoid research: how to listen to signals from a three-dimensional living brain-like tissue using tools that were designed to be flat.

Developed by researchers at Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the new device opens the door to deeper insights into brain development, neurological diseases, and drug testing.

What Are Mini Brains and Why Do They Matter?

Mini brains, formally known as human neural organoids, are tiny brain-like structures grown in laboratories from human stem cells. Though they are only a few millimeters wide, they contain:

  • Living neurons

  • Interconnected neural circuits

  • Brain-like electrical rhythms

Because organoids can be grown from patient-specific stem cells, they are extremely valuable for studying conditions such as epilepsy, autism, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

However, there has always been a problem.

The Big Limitation: Flat Tools for a 3D Brain

Traditional brain-recording devices—like microelectrode arrays—are flat, rigid, and two-dimensional. When scientists use them on a spherical organoid, they can only measure activity from a few surface points.

This creates several issues:

  • Most of the organoid’s activity remains invisible

  • Large-scale synchronized brain signals go undetected

  • Researchers see fragments instead of full neural networks

In short, scientists were listening to whispers when the organoid was actually speaking in full sentences.

A Soft 3D Mesh That Wraps the Brain

The new bioelectronic device completely changes this situation.

Instead of forcing a 3D organoid onto a flat surface, the researchers built electronics that adapt to the brain’s shape.

The system begins as a thin, flexible, flat lattice. Using controlled mechanical forces—similar to how a pop-up book folds—the lattice transforms into a three-dimensional mesh that gently wraps around the organoid.

This design allows the electronics to conform perfectly to the curved surface without harming the tissue.

240 Tiny Electrodes, One Complete Picture

The mesh contains up to 240 microelectrodes, each only 10 microns wide, roughly the size of a single human cell.

Key features include:

  • 91% surface coverage of the organoid

  • Individually addressable electrodes

  • Porous structure that allows oxygen and nutrients to flow

  • Stable electrical contact over long periods

This means the organoid can “breathe,” grow, and function normally while being monitored.

As John A. Rogers, who led the device development, explained, organoids are living systems, and any hardware must support—not restrict—their metabolism.

From Isolated Signals to Whole Brain Networks

Earlier experiments using 8 or 32 electrodes only captured small, localized electrical signals. But when researchers used the full 240-channel array, the results were dramatically different.

They observed:

  • Synchronized oscillations across the entire organoid

  • Waves of neural activity spreading in real time

  • Coordinated firing patterns similar to early human brain development

Because each electrode’s position is mapped in three dimensions, scientists can now create detailed activity maps showing how signals travel through the mini brain.

This shifts neuroscience research from studying individual neurons to understanding whole neural networks.

Not Just Listening—The Mesh Can Also Talk Back

The device does more than record signals. It can also stimulate neural activity, allowing researchers to test how organoids respond to drugs or external inputs.

In experiments:

  • 4-aminopyridine, a compound that increases neural firing, caused heightened electrical activity

  • Botulinum toxin, which disrupts communication between neurons, reduced synchronized firing

These results prove that the system can detect meaningful, functional changes in living neural networks—not just random electrical noise.

Shaping the Brain Itself

One of the most surprising discoveries was that the mesh can also influence how organoids grow.

By changing the lattice design, researchers guided organoids to form non-spherical shapes, such as:

  • Cubes

  • Hexagons

This ability could one day allow scientists to assemble modular brain-like tissues, connecting different regions the way the real brain does.

Why This Matters for Medicine and Drug Discovery

Organoids are becoming essential tools for testing new therapies. But until now, researchers could not tell whether a treatment restored coordinated brain-wide activity or only affected isolated neurons.

With near-complete monitoring, scientists can now:

  • Evaluate drug effectiveness more accurately

  • Detect subtle network-level improvements or failures

  • Reduce reliance on animal testing

  • Develop personalized treatments using patient-derived organoids

This technology may help answer a critical question in neuroscience:
Does a therapy truly restore brain function—or just change isolated signals?

A Major Step Forward in Brain Research

The study, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, represents a powerful convergence of biology, engineering, and materials science.

By allowing mini brains to be studied as complete, living networks, the shape-conforming 3D bioelectronic mesh brings researchers closer than ever to understanding how the human brain develops, communicates, and heals.

In the future, these soft, intelligent electronics may not only help us study the brain—but also guide the creation of therapies that truly restore its harmony.

Reference: Liu, N., Shiravi, S., Jin, T. et al. Shape-conformal porous frameworks for full coverage of neural organoids and high-resolution electrophysiology. Nat. Biomed. Eng (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-026-01620-y

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