Brain research has once again begun a new chapter, with scientists now integrating small, lab-produced brains into biocomputers.
12/14/2023 – Scientists say that brain research is still in its infancy. There is a huge uncharted territory in this niche, which is why they can surprise us with something week after week. Now, for example, a stack of “mini-brains” (made from human tissue) has been created in a laboratory setting, which, connected by electrodes, has been converted into a larger biocomputer. The goal was to understand how the human brain works and how much can be extracted from the so-called “organic” in such a sterile environment.
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Frontiers in science In a magazine In new research published this week, a team of researchers has developed a roadmap to achieve this goal. It’s a new interdisciplinary field called “organic intelligence” or OI for short. The new term aims to “establish OI as a true biological computing tool that exploits brain organoids using scientific advances and bioengineering in an ethically responsible manner,” the paper states. Biocomputers consist of mini-brains or organoids, which are small 3D structures made of stem cells designed to mimic the shape of the brain and its ability to learn. “While silicon-based computers are certainly better at numbers, the brain is better at learning,” said study author John Hartung, a professor of microbiology at Johns Hopkins University.
With its amazing ability to store information and learn more energy efficiently, OI is full of potential. There is a huge performance gap between the human brain and a traditional computer compared to our current technology. Scientists have already succeeded in teaching young brains to perform simple tasks. For example, in 2021, they were able to teach several organisms how to play the video game “Pong.” Recently, a group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania successfully injected human neurons into the brains of mice with damaged visual cortex to partially restore the functions of damaged brain areas.
The field of organic intelligence is only beginning to scratch the surface of what it can actually do. For example, we may one day produce custom brain organoids to help patients with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Hartung noted that he or she could test whether “certain substances, such as pesticides, cause problems with memory or learning.”
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