Is That A Pilot In Your Pocket?

[oldsalt]

There's an interesting story in Wired News about a biomedical experiment using rat neurons linked together to form a "brain."

From the article:

Currently the brain has learned enough to be able to control the pitch and roll of the simulated F-22 fighter jet in weather conditions ranging from blue skies to hurrican-force winds. Initially the aircraft drifted, because the brain hadn't figured out how to control its "body," but over time the neurons learned to stabilize the aircraft to a straight, level flight.

The experiment is being conducted at the University of Florida. There is further information in an article at their site, entitled: UF Scientist: "Brain" in a Dish Acs as Autopilot, Living Computer.

From the article:

The "brain" -- a collection of 25,000 living neurons, or nerve cells, taken from a rat's brain and cultured inside a glass dish -- gives scientists a unique real-time window into the brain at the cellular level. By watching the brain cells interact, scientists hope to understand what causes neural disorders such as epilepsy and to determine noninvasive ways to intervene.

Both articles are interesting -- at least I found them so.

[AndrewSternberg]

Both articles are interesting -- at least I found them so.

Absolutely! I am keeping an eye out for all such experiments/discoveries. Since I am studying to be an Electrical Engineer, speicalizing in Robotics, I am very intersted in understanding the human nervous system. I want to see robotics and the nervous system combined (cybernetics).