A silicon chip that mimics the brain’s neurons could help fight paralysis

Artificial neurons that mimic the way our body's nerve cells transfer electrical signals could one day help patients with nerve damage.
Messengers: The neurons are built into small silicon chips (pictured above) and could be used to pass signals between nerve cells that may be damaged by disease or injury. Crucially, the chips only need one billionth the power of a standard microprocessor, meaning they could theoretically be used in medical implants to help treat chronic diseases like heart failure or Alzheimer’s.
How they were developed: The researchers used a simulation to model how two types of neurons in rats fire in response to stimuli: respiratory ones that are responsible for breathing and ones in the hippocampus. The models were translated to silicon chips in which replicas of biological ion channels (which transmit signals in the body) were created. The process was described in a paper in Nature Communications.
Stand-in: In theory, circuits of artificial neurons could replicate the healthy function of failing nerve cells and pass on electrical messages between different parts of the body. For example, when someone’s heart fails, neurons in the brain don’t respond properly to nervous system feedback, so the heart doesn’t pump as hard as it should. A chip containing artificial neurons could transmit the right signal to get it back on track.
In fact, some of the researchers are now developing smart pacemakers with these chips embedded. Tests in rats showed that this approach was more effective than just a standard pacemaker—although it’s still a long time before any such device is ready to be implanted in human patients.
Deep Dive
Biotechnology

The feud between a weed influencer and scientist over puking stoners
A scientist went looking for genes that cause cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. But a public spat with a cannabis influencer who suffers from the disease may have derailed his research.

This startup wants to copy you into an embryo for organ harvesting
With plans to create realistic synthetic embryos, grown in jars, Renewal Bio is on a journey to the horizon of science and ethics.

Edits to a cholesterol gene could stop the biggest killer on earth
In a first, a patient in New Zealand has undergone gene-editing to lower their cholesterol. It could be the beginning of new era in disease prevention.

Monkeypox is in Bay Area wastewater
It showed up in Stanford’s Sewer Coronavirus Alert Network, which is the only group publishing data on monkeypox in US wastewater.
Stay connected

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.