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Scientists grow mini human brains to power computers

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7p1lzvxjro

Quote:

It may have its roots in science fiction, but a small number of researchers are making real progress trying to create computers out of living cells.

Welcome to the weird world of biocomputing.

Among those leading the way are a group of scientists in Switzerland, who I went to meet.

One day, they hope we could see data centres full of "living" servers which replicate aspects of how artificial intelligence (AI) learns - and could use a fraction of the energy of current methods.

That is the vision of Dr Fred Jordan, co-founder of the FinalSpark lab I visited.
We are all used to the ideas of hardware and software in the computers we currently use.

The somewhat eyebrow-raising term Dr Jordan and others in the field use to refer to what they are creating is "wetware".

In simple terms, it involves creating neurons which are developed into clusters called organoids, which in turn can be attached to electrodes - at which point the process of trying to use them like mini-computers can begin…

… In the lab, FinalSpark's cellular biologist Dr Flora Brozzi handed me a dish containing several small white orbs.

Each little sphere is essentially a tiny, lab-grown mini-brain, made out of living stem cells which have been cultured to become clusters of neurons and supporting cells - these are the “organoids”.

They are nowhere near the complexity of a human brain, but they have the same building blocks.

After undergoing a process which can last several months, the organoids are ready to be attached to an electrode and then prompted to respond to simple keyboard commands.

This is a means for electrical signals to be sent and received, with the results recorded on a normal computer hooked up to the system.

It's a simple test: you press a key which sends an electric signal through the electrodes, and if it works (it doesn't always) you can just about see a little jump of activity on a screen in response.

What's on display is a moving graph which looks a bit like an EEG.

I press the key a few times in quick succession, and the responses suddenly stop. Then there's a short, distinctive burst of energy on the chart.

When I asked what happened, Dr Jordan said there was a lot they still don't understand about what the organoids do and why. Perhaps I annoyed them.

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