Unknown to most people, a new “wet-ware” technology now exists in which a sample of brain cells is put onto a 60 electrode circuit board where the semiconductor should have been. This circuit and the sample on top of it are then, either wirelessly or through the internet, connected to a technological device of various purposes. That device is now alive and has the ability to think, make its own decisions and most amazingly of all, creatively problem solve, which no other technology has ever achieved before.
The sample of brain cells, which are procured from lab mice, are cultured on the circuit board itself and changes neural pathways and electrical currents as it adapts to its “new body.” Scientists are literally watching a brain grow and develop in real time, which may provide new knowledge about the way our minds operate and even how we heal. In addition to revolutionizing the way we look at computers and unmanned devices, this technology may also provide insights into cures for mental diseases that researchers have been dealing with for centuries. It has also been suggested that, within ten years, people may be able to purchase their own “living technology.”
Student Researcher: Theo DeBarros
Faculty Evaluator: Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D.
Sources:
site: http://radio-weblogs.com/0105910/2002/12/19.html
Author: Davis Cameron, Technology review
Date: december 18, 2002
site: http://www.neuro.gatech.edu/groups/potter/animat.html
Author: Potter group
Date: 2003
site: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20041018/brain.html
Author: Jennifer Viegas, Discover Channel News