A new way has been discovered by scientists in Austria to grow replacement brain tissue to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease. That's true. The research has been dubbed as "extraordinarily exciting" by a scientist at NUI Galway.

The study was conducted by Austrian researchers in the lab to produce three dimensional "mini brains" that emulate the way a brain develops naturally. They used different types of stem cells to grow small clumps of brain cells known as cerebral organoids. These are actually been called mini brains by researchers.

The research was conducted by the team at the institute of molecular biotechnology in the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Flat two-dimensional layers are formed by the most lab-grown tissues. However, in the groundbreaking study, the researchers created conditions to allow the formation of several types of brain cells. This enabled to form pea-sized nodules of tissue arranged in combinations akin to those that would be found in a normal brain.

"This is an extraordinarily exciting development and a very big step forward in understanding how the brain works", said Frank Barry, professor of cellular therapy at Galway's Remedi, the Regenerative Medicine Institute. Published today in the journal Nature, the research opens the doors to use stem cells to regenerate the brain by transplanting new tissue.