European scientists have developed a working interface between neurons (brain cells) and silicon chips.
The ultimate applications are potentially limitless. In the long term it will possibly enable the creation of very sophisticated neural prostheses to combat neurological disorders. What’s more, it could allow the creation of organic computers that use living neurons as their CPU.
Those applications are potentially decades away, but in the much nearer term the new technology could enable very advanced and sophisticated drug screening systems for the pharmaceutical industry.
They’re also looking at using genes to communicate with the neurons, or, as the press release puts it:
If NACHIP took the first crucial step towards a neuron-powered CPU, future work will pave the way for a genetically-powered hard disk.
Hmmm. I think I feel today’s science column coming on…
