And so it begins, perhaps? 3D artificial brain today. Tomorrow, neural uploads?
Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg have taken the first step in creating a three-dimensional model of the brain by attaching neurons to a positively charged nanocellulose scaffold.
The purpose is to understand Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease better, for example.
Nitrocellulose (microfibrillated cellulose) is obtained from plant materials, such as woodpulp.
‟Pores can be created in nanocellulose, which allows nerve cells to grow in a three-dimensional matrix. This makes it extra comfortable for the cells and creates a realistic cultivation environment that is more like a real brain compared with a three-dimensional cell cultivation well,” says Paul Gatenholm, Professor of Biopolymer Technology at Chalmers.
The researchers found in their experiments that neurons began to develop and generate synapses (contacts with one another) and a neural network of hundreds of cells was produced. The researchers could then use electrical impulses and chemical signal substances to generate nerve impulses that spread through the network in much the same way as they do in the brain. They could also study how nerve cells react with other molecules, such as pharmaceuticals.
Ape like serendipitous blog entries. See my previous blog and make the connection…
Truly amazing work on the material state consciousness is. With advances in other areas like computing and even 3D printing, how long before this type of work will lead to advances in AI only conceived of in sci-fi like Star Trek. If you’re a fan, the coincidence that Seung phonetically shares his name with Data’s creator Noonien Soong is quixotically energizing.
The image below contains a link to Seung’s own site.
Sebastian Seung: I am my connectome http://www.ted.com/talks/sebastian_seung.html
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Ape love brain and brain love Ape. So finding out about Ape brains is very very interesting indeed. A nice man, named David Chalmers a philosopher at the Australian National University, who is interested in brains, has gathered an impressive collection of online articles and papers (7734 of them) and chucked them up all on one page. They are all about consciousness. Scientific and philosophical papers together. Gratitude David for all the hard work.
