Scientists have used the cells from aborted babies to create a mouse that has a brain that is “half human.”

“Researchers took the immature glial cells from donated human fetuses and injected them into mouse pups,” the New Scientist reports. “The cells developed into star-shaped glial cells known as astrocytes. 300,000 human cells were injected into each mouse, but 12 months later that number had increased to 12 million. The mouse’s own glial cells had been driven out by human astrocytes which are up to 20 times larger than those in mice.”

The scientists would not confirm that the tissue used came from aborted children.

The reports say that the “half human” mice showed significantly higher intelligence than their all mouse counterparts.

The scientists said they had considered using monkeys for the tests but stayed with mice “due to ethical concerns.”