Today a Brain Cell, Tomorrow a Pilot
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Mission accomplished: a collection of rat brain cells has
flown a virtual F-22 fighter jet from a Petri dish.
Approximately 25,000 interconnected rat neurons were culled
from the motor cortex of mature rat embryos and ?seeded? in
a Petri dish. The neurons soon formed a complex web of
interconnections, transforming the collection of cells into
a ?live computation device?, says Thomas DeMarse, a
University of Florida biomedical engineer who was
responsible for the project.
The neurons were able to interpret signals from a virtual
F-22 fighter jet, indicating the plane?s movement and
weather conditions. The in vitro neurons then modified the
flight path accordingly by transmitting signals back to the
plane?s controls.
As for all of the creepy possibilities, Mandayam Srinivasa
of MIT says that artificially created biological systems can
be much more complex than modern electronics.
Don?t fear, however. It will probably be a long time before
?Petri dish brains? can handle tasks like flying real
fighter jets. It takes billions of neurons, not thousands,
to even begin to resemble a human brain, according to Steven
Potter.
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