On November 21, 2025, scientists published a groundbreaking achievement in Advanced Functional Materials: For the first time, brain-like tissue with functional neural networks was successfully cultivated without the use of animal-derived materials or biological coatings. This technology constructs a three-dimensional brain tissue model with electrophysiological activity by simulating the development process of human neural networks, providing a more controllable and ethically compliant research platform for neuropharmaceutical testing, with the potential to reduce reliance on traditional animal experiments.
