• Scientists Create Artificial Synapse... For Prosthetic Brains
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[QUOTE] This image shows nanotubes used in synthetic synapse and apparatus used to create them. Credit: USC Viterbi School of Engineering Engineering researchers the University of Southern California have made a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain. They have built a carbon nanotube synapse circuit whose behavior in tests reproduces the function of a neuron, the building block of the brain. The devices might be used in brain prostheses – or combined into massive network of synthetic neurons to create a synthetic brain. [IMG]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FsJ8NrRveLw/TbC_MJwkzYI/AAAAAAAALLU/_l32K3MX8DI/s1600/cntsynapse.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]n a paper published in the proceedings of the IEEE/NIH 2011 Life Science Systems and Applications Workshop in April 2011, the Viterbi team detailed how they were able to use carbon nanotubes to create a synapse. Carbon nanotubes are molecular carbon structures that are extremely small, with a diameter a million times smaller than a pencil point. These nanotubes can be used in electronic circuits, acting as metallic conductors or semiconductors. "This is a necessary first step in the process," said Parker, who began the looking at the possibility of developing a synthetic brain in 2006. "We wanted to answer the question: Can you build a circuit that would act like a neuron? The next step is even more complex. How can we build structures out of these circuits that mimic the function of the brain, which has 100 billion neurons and 10,000 synapses per neuron?" Parker emphasized that the actual development of a synthetic brain, or even a functional brain area is decades away, and she said the next hurdle for the research centers on reproducing brain plasticity in the circuits. The human brain continually produces new neurons, makes new connections and adapts throughout life, and creating this process through analog circuits will be a monumental task, according to Parker. She believes the ongoing research of understanding the process of human intelligence could have long-term implications for everything from developing prosthetic nanotechnology that would heal traumatic brain injuries to developing intelligent, safe cars that would protect drivers in bold new ways. For Jonathan Joshi, a USC Viterbi Ph.D. student who is a co-author of the paper, the interdisciplinary approach to the problem was key to the initial progress. Joshi said that working with Zhou and his group of nanotechnology researchers provided the ideal dynamic of circuit technology and nanotechnology. "The interdisciplinary approach is the only approach that will lead to a solution. We need more than one type of engineer working on this solution," said Joshi. "We should constantly be in search of new technologies to solve this problem."[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/04/researchers-create-functioning-synapse.html[/url] :pcgaming: :science: :pcgaming:
Hooray for science! Another step forwards for us all! (Minus luddites)
First step to the robot uprising, here we come!
Cool, now we can finally cure people who are actually brain dead.
[QUOTE=tier56;29344690]Cool, now we can finally cure people who are actually brain dead.[/QUOTE] Well, a pattern that is lost is lost forever though. But 'strengthening' the brain, and artificial brains, that sounds plausible.
Is it just me or has nanotube tech exploded in the past week since that graphene paper?
Fucking awesome. I was at school today and someone had put a Carl Sagan poster up on the side of one of the locker areas. :buddy:
:what:
The anime Ghost In The Shell is what this reminds me off, hell with enough research into this kind of stuff we can produce such things.
Prosthetic brains? Looks like there's hope for you assholes yet.
Cave Johnson, we're done here.
Carbon fuck yeah !
I'm ready to be wired up now.
[QUOTE=Motherfucker;29350778]Prosthetic brains? Looks like there's hope for you assholes yet.[/QUOTE] Yeah. But you're hopeless.
Jesus... This is surely something big. Artificial replacements for brain-matter...this is pretty mind-boggling. The possibilities are grand! I'm no neurologist, but if your brain is made entirely from synapses, and you can create them now, and a brain by extension...could you actually create a machine with the same processing potential as a human brain? And then I wonder more abstract things, like...if you were to slowly replace your actual brain with these artificial bits, would your consciousness still exist upon reaching total conversion? Though of course, creating synapses doesn't mean we know how to digitally "read" the brain...
Ghost in the Shell, anyone? Can't wait to transplant my brain into a robot then fuck shit up.
Prosthetic brains seems a bit far off. Prosthetic limbs that can directly attach to your nerves so you can control them with your brain like normal limbs or artificial nerve reconstruction for paraplegics... Not as awesome but more realistic and still exciting.
[QUOTE=MrBob1337;29344840]Is it just me or has nanotube tech exploded in the past week since that graphene paper?[/QUOTE] Nah, in the past couple years I've been reading news about carbon nanotubes and graphene all the time.
First thought that ran through my head was "YES, TERRY! MINE FOR BRAINS!" Can't imagine why, though.
[QUOTE=J-Dude;29351008]Jesus... This is surely something big. Artificial replacements for brain-matter...this is pretty mind-boggling. The possibilities are grand! I'm no neurologist, but if your brain is made entirely from synapses, and you can create them now, and a brain by extension...could you actually create a machine with the same processing potential as a human brain? And then I wonder more abstract things, like...if you were to slowly replace your actual brain with these artificial bits, would your consciousness still exist upon reaching total conversion? Though of course, creating synapses doesn't mean we know how to digitally "read" the brain...[/QUOTE] I imagine so as most of your brain cells fully replace themselves several times over your lifetime from infancy to adulthood (minus a select group within the cerebral cortex). Transitioning would be difficult and I imagine it'd involve slowly merging organic computers with the actual brain until the majority of it is computer, and this would need to be done in a fully sterile environment, as you'd have to turn off the immune system and most functions of the brain without killing the person involved, so that it'd accept the host computer. As for keeping it alive whilst in transition, you'd have to hook it up to a cardiopulmonary bypass machine, and the next step would be figuring out what nerves control which functions of the body (speech for example) and creating a mechanical 'ear' and 'mouth', which at this point could be a flashing light, and wiring them up, saying something like 'flash if you can hear me' and seeing if a response is returned. Of course this has incredible potential cause, well, you could have a human droid who could interface with anything, for example sit in a particular chair and have his brain directly linked to a space shuttle for example, so he would receive optical data through a port directly to his brain and be able to control precise movements, or 'feel' what the ship is feeling in real time.
My mom died from a brain aneurysm when I was 11, a prosthetic brain could have saved her :frown:
I figure it'd be pretty good if they worked on a brain container module, which could be like a spherical white ball (think glados), with a large number of input and output ports fed into a circular bank on the side of it. A droid-like body could be built in any number of configurations and, when the brain module is slotted in, it then routes all of the output modules to the limbs and all of the input modules to the sensors, eyes and ears of the host droid. Perhaps the limbs of this droid could be modular, and thus you could plug in different units to serve different purposes, perhaps for climbing for the purpose of building or even as far as wheels or wings to enable fast transportation or flight. The development of these droids would be iterative, new versions would be pushed out through beta testers and into the mainstream populace (perhaps priced?) which would enable much more advanced interaction, eventually leading to droids with skin and the possibility to customize a face/body. Alternatively, the brain module could be plugged into anything else capable of receiving it and it'd then receive input and send output to that, which could be pretty much anything at all. Buildings and Structures, Vehicles. The internet would simply be human brains running in parallel in a virtual world supporting visual processing generated directly from the mind, so basically anything that a human imagined could be created within his own 'world' and he could allow others to enter this virtual world, perhaps this could be an alternatively running process that every human is wirelessly connected to and accessing at all times. (the ultimate video game)
[QUOTE=breakyourfac;29352758]My mom died from a brain aneurysm when I was 11, a prosthetic brain could have saved her :frown:[/QUOTE] :frown:
[QUOTE=SCopE5000;29352972]I figure it'd be pretty good if they worked on a brain container module, which could be like a spherical white ball (think glados), with a large number of input and output ports fed into a circular bank on the side of it. A droid-like body could be built in any number of configurations and, when the brain module is slotted in, it then routes all of the output modules to the limbs and all of the input modules to the sensors, eyes and ears of the host droid. Perhaps the limbs of this droid could be modular, and thus you could plug in different units to serve different purposes, perhaps for climbing for the purpose of building or even as far as wheels or wings to enable fast transportation or flight. The development of these droids would be iterative, new versions would be pushed out through beta testers and into the mainstream populace (perhaps priced?) which would enable much more advanced interaction, eventually leading to droids with skin and the possibility to customize a face/body. Alternatively, the brain module could be plugged into anything else capable of receiving it and it'd then receive input and send output to that, which could be pretty much anything at all. Buildings and Structures, Vehicles. The internet would simply be human brains running in parallel in a virtual world supporting visual processing generated directly from the mind, so basically anything that a human imagined could be created within his own 'world' and he could allow others to enter this virtual world, perhaps this could be an alternatively running process that every human is wirelessly connected to and accessing at all times. (the ultimate video game)[/QUOTE] Ghost in the Shell was basically this. In the universe, they were storing artificial brains inside brain cases. They became common enough that people who weren't a cyborg were the [I]minority[/I].
[QUOTE=SCopE5000;29352972]I figure it'd be pretty good if they worked on a brain container module, which could be like a spherical white ball (think glados), with a large number of input and output ports fed into a circular bank on the side of it. A droid-like body could be built in any number of configurations and, when the brain module is slotted in, it then routes all of the output modules to the limbs and all of the input modules to the sensors, eyes and ears of the host droid. Perhaps the limbs of this droid could be modular, and thus you could plug in different units to serve different purposes, perhaps for climbing for the purpose of building or even as far as wheels or wings to enable fast transportation or flight. The development of these droids would be iterative, new versions would be pushed out through beta testers and into the mainstream populace (perhaps priced?) which would enable much more advanced interaction, eventually leading to droids with skin and the possibility to customize a face/body. Alternatively, the brain module could be plugged into anything else capable of receiving it and it'd then receive input and send output to that, which could be pretty much anything at all. Buildings and Structures, Vehicles. The internet would simply be human brains running in parallel in a virtual world supporting visual processing generated directly from the mind, so basically anything that a human imagined could be created within his own 'world' and he could allow others to enter this virtual world, perhaps this could be an alternatively running process that every human is wirelessly connected to and accessing at all times. (the ultimate video game)[/QUOTE] And someone makes something (virus) that abuses the shit out of everything you wrote, and you just got yourself one huge cyber failure (or perhaps, war + cyberwar).
If they can figure out a way to connect it to existing problems you can cure people who are paralyzed easier if it is in the spine or something.
This kind of technology could even help advances in augmented reality or even something similar to the matrix. These artificial brains could be used to interface with a real human brain and induce reality or even allow new types of sensors to work with the brain.
Does this mean we will be able to have brain upgrades at some point?
Game over, man. Game over.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;29344666]Hooray for science! Another step forwards for us all! (Minus luddites)[/QUOTE] Ahahaha, yeh right. You think this is for all of us? Ahahaha. I guess you're right, this technology IS for us. To kill us that is.
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