Though it may seem like fiction, we may one day see computational hardware constructed from living human brain cells rather than traditional silicon.
A biocomputer harnesses biologically derived materials, such as DNA, proteins, or living tissue (e.g., lab-grown neurons), to perform computational tasks.
The process involves growing neurons, developing them into small clusters called organoids, and then connecting these clusters to electrodes to use them as tiny computers. And interestingly, these biocomputers use less energy than conventional ones.
In 2022, the Australian company Cortical Labs made headlines by successfully getting artificial neurons to play the classic computer game Pong. Another example is the “Brainoware” biocomputing system, which links living brain cells to a computer to achieve basic speech recognition.
And recently, in August, a University of Bristol team reported that they successfully used human brain organoids containing neurons to recognize Braille letters.
The current focus in several academic and commercial labs is on growing human neurons and converting them into functional systems comparable to biological transistors.
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