Live Computer

Scientists will grow a neural network in a Petri dish

Vladimir Guillen, Naked Science

Will the computers of the future be assembled in factories, as they are today, or will they be grown in laboratories, like cell cultures? It was this question that an interdisciplinary group of biologists and computer engineers asked, which won a grant of 500 thousand dollars from the US National Science Foundation. The researchers plan to develop a computer consisting of living cells and program it to perform computational tasks.

Not much is known about the upcoming project. Scientists claim that they use living cells (they did not specify which type) to build a neural network. They say they will use optogenetics (a biological technique that uses light to control cells) to teach the system to recognize handwritten numbers. The team also claims that the hybrid project could lead to a better understanding of both computers and the organic brain. But it is still absolutely unclear exactly how all these puzzle details will form into one puzzle.

Review of image recognition based on live neurons / © Lehigh University

When researchers from the University of Pennsylvania told about globules of human brain tissue grown in the laboratory, it caused a wave of indignation on the part of ethicists who believed that "mini-brains" will be able to develop consciousness as they improve. It is not yet known whether this project will cause the same concerns.

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