A significant breakthrough in technology and neuroscience has been achieved by creating the world’s first “living computer” developed using human brain tissue in Sweden.
This innovation involves the use of 16 organoids that are small pieces of lab-grown brain cells that interact with each other like circuits in a conventional computer chip. This living system is prominent because it works with fairly low energy consumption. Living neurons require a million times less energy than existing digital processors.
Researchers compared the performance of these brain-based organoids with some of the most advanced computers such as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Frontier. Researchers discovered that the human brain can work at the same speed and has 1000 times more memory using only 10 to 20 watts of energy.
This innovative technology has been developed by the team of FinalSpark, a company that focuses on using biological neural networks to create innovative solutions.
Organoids themselves are the latest three-dimensional tissue cultures derived from stem cells. The process of growth of these organoids involves the growth of stem cells for about a month, during which they begin to exhibit neuron-like properties. Each of these small brains in the experiment consisted of about 10,000 neurons, each of which was about 0.5 mm in diameter.
An interesting aspect of this technology is the way organoids are trained, including the use of dopamine as a reward mechanism. When organoids successfully complete the task, they are rewarded with dopamine, driven by the movement of light that mimics the release of natural dopamine into the human brain.
The setup consists of organoids in a structure surrounded by eight electrodes. These electrodes not only measure activity within organoids but also allow researchers to influence neuronal behavior by sending crons through them.
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