02 November 2006

The Rat Brains Are Taking Over!

As if an online game that impacts the economy wasn’t enough, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are growing cultures of brain cells from rodents on electrodes. These electrodes are hooked up to robots, which are, in turn, able to navigate mazes, follow objects around a room, and even draw.

To me, this screams I, Robot. Or even possibly Borg. Sci Fi aside, what is the use of this? The possibility of transplanting human brains into robots (yea for living forever!) is ruled out as the cells must be grown on the electrodes. Creating drones raises more questions then stem cell research (surely, having a human mind, and therefore, soul, qualifies one as human).

So, real cyber pets? Another "real" simulacrum?

Rock on.