<STYLE type=text/css></STYLE> The line between living organisms and machines has just become a whole lot blurrier. European researchers have developed "neuro-chips" in which living brain cells and silicon circuits are coupled together. The achievement could one day enable the creation of sophisticated neural prostheses to treat neurological disorders or the development of organic computers that crunch numbers using living neurons. To create the neuro-chip, researchers squeezed more than 16,000 electronic transistors and hundreds of capacitors onto a silicon chip just 1 millimeter square in size. They used special proteins found in the brain to glue brain cells, called neurons, onto the chip. However, the proteins acted as more than just a simple adhesive. "They also provided the link between ionic channels of the neurons and semiconductor material in a way that neural electrical signals could be passed to the silicon chip," said study team member Stefano Vassanelli from the University of Padua in Italy. The proteins allowed the neuro-chip's electronic components and its living cells to communicate with each other. Electrical signals from neurons were recorded using the chip's transistors, while the chip's capacitors were used to stimulate the neurons. It could still be decades before the technology is advanced enough to treat neurological disorders or create living computers, the researchers say, but in the nearer term, the chips could provide an advanced method of screening drugs for the pharmaceutical industry. "Pharmaceutical companies could use the chip to test the effect of drugs on neurons, to quickly discover promising avenues of research," Vassanelli said. The researchers are now working on ways to avoid damaging the neurons during stimulation. The team is also exploring the possibility of using a neuron's genetic instructions to control the neuro-chip. http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060327_neuro_chips.html what do u guys think about this????
i'm impressed enough that they fitted more than 16,000 electronic transistors and hundreds of capacitors onto a silicon chip just 1 millimeter square in size!
yeah to bad at the peak of knowing everything we will probably be wiped out by some force beyond our control
yeah, i saw a special on discovery science where these scientists took these gerbil braincells and hooked itup to a flight simulator for it to prectice on. Then they actually took it out and let it take control of a fighter jet during mid flight. THe brain was able to maintain altitude and keep the plane from veering one way or another. It is really inresting and i could see the implications in the future that will be mind blowing.
naughtyneighbor exactly what i was thinking 16,000 is not shit, but hundreds of capacitors is another story, ya there Polly small as fuck but that’s still cool. also mixing silicon and living tissue has been around for almost 10 years so its about fucking time they did it to a human brain.
hahahahahaha you just like freeze up and shit, haha how would you rebbot or sumthin?? haha that would be crazy, but prolly hella scary......
As a child of the computer age, even this shit is starting to creep me out. All in the name of science I guess...