Computer Circuit Built From Brain Cells

clipped from technology.newscientist.com Computer circuit built from brain cells trying to build networks of brain cells to href="http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn9391-neurons-selforganise-to-make-brain-chips.html">interface with electronics or href="http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn10997-neural-extension-cord-developed-for-brain-implants.html">repair damaged nervous systems. For all its sophistication and power, your brain is built from unreliable components – one neuron can successfully provoke a signal in another only 40% of the time. Our brains combine neurons into heavily connected groups to unite their 40% reliability into a much more reliable whole. Elisha Moses at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel developed a way to control the growth pattern of neurons to build reliable circuits that use neurons rather than wires. When stimulated with a small dose of a drug, the neurons send signals around the circuit. An ion blocker is used in the centre of the horseshoe to electrically isolate one side from the other. are able to control how many axons link could serve as intermediaries between computers and the nervous system